Fresh spinach is a natural for salads. But when you take the simple spinach salad with sweet onion dressing and dress it up with sliced strawberries and candied pistachio nuts it becomes something extra special.
Whether you choose full-grown spinach, baby spinach or a spinach/spring mix blend as the base for this salad is completely up to you. The dressing comes together quickly in the blender. Candying the nuts is fast as well. And all the prep work can be done ahead making this salad easy to serve when entertaining or when you want something low maintenance.
Bundled or Packaged Spinach
Spinach sold by the bunch is full grown and has a more pronounced flavor than baby spinach. Remember when you purchase bundled spinach that it needs to be throughly washed to remove any grit and the stems should be discarded as they are hard to chew. The stems account for about 1/4 of the weight of a bundle of spinach so your yield will average about 3 cups of chopped leaves per bunch of spinach leaves with the stems removed. Bagged spinach usually consists of smaller spinach leaves or baby spinach that have tender stems. So only really long stems need to be removed. Packages of fresh spinach range from 5-12 ounces so it is important to check the packaging for the serving quantity.
How to Candy Nuts the Easy Way
There are many recipes for candying n
How to Candy Nuts the Easy Way
There are many recipes for candying nuts. Some use egg whites, some call for mixing the sugar with water, and boiling to almost caramel stage before adding the nuts. Each produces a slightly different finished product. But the simplest and quickest method calls for adding 1 cup of nuts to a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir constantly until you just start to smell the nuts toasting (about 3 minutes). Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt over the nuts and stir constantly until the sugar melts and glazes the nuts (about 10 minutes). Remove the nuts from the pan and spread on a sheet of parchment to let cool. Break any large clusters apart. The nuts will have a sugary look to them and taste wonderful. Make sure you don’t eat them all before you add them to the salad.
Figuring Serving Amounts for Spinach Salad with Sweet Onion Dressing
The standard serving size for a creamy salad dressing is 2 tablespoons. This is a little heavy for tender spinach leaves, so back off that amount to about 1 – 1-1/2 tablespoons of dressing per serving.
The amount of salad per person depends greatly on how you serve it. If it is plated on a separate plate people tend to eat more salad and thus more dressing. You can control this by the size of the salad plate. A salad plate can range from 7 – 8-1/2” in diameter. A green salad served on a separate salad plate will need more greens than a salad served on the side of a dinner plate. The larger the plate the more greens needed to fill the space. A rough guide for a side salad is a generous 1/2 cup of salad greens (or 1.5 ounces) when served with other dishes on the dinner plate. Plan on 2/3 – 3/4 cup of salad greens (or generous 2 ounces) when served on a separate salad plate.
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Spinach Salad with Sweet Onion Dressing
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: salad
- Method: stovetop
Description
A quick and easy spinach salad with sweet onion dressing and sliced strawberries. Candied pistachios make this dish special.
Ingredients
- 9 ounces (1 bag) baby spinach leaves (or spinach and spring mix)
- 1/4 red onion, peeled and sliced into thin slices
- 10 ounces strawberries, sliced (about 1-1/2 cups)
- 4 ounces shelled pistachios, (about 1 cup)
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Sweet Onion Dressing
- 3 tablespoons chopped yellow onions
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2/3 cup grapeseed oil (or other neutral oil)
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the chopped onion, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, mustard, salt, and pepper and pulse until onion is smooth.
- Drizzle in the oil and blend until the dressing has completely emulsified. Set aside
- In a small container stir together the sugar and salt to combine and set aside.
- In a small skillet over medium heat, add the pistachios and toast for 2-3 minutes or until you begin to smell a nutty aroma, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
- Sprinkle the sugar mixture into the pan, stirring the nuts as you drizzle. Stir constantly until the pistachios are thoroughly coated in the sugar mixture for about 30 seconds.
- Immediately remove the pan from the heat so the nuts don’t burn. Spread the pistachios on a piece of parchment to cool. Once cooled, you can break the nuts apart if needed.
- Place the spinach or spinach and spring mix in a serving bowl.
- Slice the strawberries and onions and place on top of the salad.
- Sprinkle the pistachios over the salad and dress with the sweet onion dressing. You may not use all the dressing on the salad. If so, label and refrigerate the leftover dressing for another salad.
- Tops salad and serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2/3 cup
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