Amazing Spinach Salad
This salad is so good! Make it even easier by purchasing candied spicy pecans. I keep all the bits in individual containers to make a fresh salad every day for my lunch. A hardboiled egg is a great addition for more protein.
Ingredients
Red Wine Vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic pressed or finely minced
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Sweet Spicy Nuts:
- 2 tablespoons water
- ½ cup granulated or brown sugar
- Pinch cayenne pepper more to taste if you want
- Pinch salt
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Salad:
- 16 ounces baby spinach or spring greens or a combination
- ½ small red onion slivered (see note about tempering the onion flavor)
- 6 to 8 slices bacon regular or thick cut, cooked and chopped
- 1 cup feta cheese crumbles more or less to taste
- 1 cup dried cranberries or cherries more or less to taste
- 1 to 2 honey crisp apples cored and chopped (cover with a bit of lemon juice if you plan on saving separately!)
Instructions
- For the dressing, blend all the ingredients until smooth or combine in a jar and shake until well-combined. Refrigerate until needed (or up to several days)
- For the nuts,
- add the water, sugar, salt and cayenne pepper to a skillet set over medium heat. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute until the sugar is dissolved. Add the nuts and stir to coat. Cook for another 1-2 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring slowly but constantly. Spread the nuts evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet and let cool. Break into pieces.
- To assemble the salad, toss all the salad ingredients together along with the cooled nuts. Toss salad with the dressing OR serve the dressing alongside.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!