Its Green – Lets go.

Weekend Loaded Spinach salad

There is nothing to start off a great lazy weekend meal than a crunchy salad full of flavor, color and aroma. The right kind of salad gets the system going…. as John Fowles may have put it

            “Eyes, nose took in their fill, 

             Tongue drooled in anticipation;  

             Brain treasured up the whole”.

This green spinach salad allows you to mix different seasonal flavors, colors, and textures to tickle all your taste buds and get you ready for a good main course to follow.  It is one of my favorite salads since it is easy to make, simple in its composition and explodes with various tastes in your mouth. I think this salad must have been inspired by something that I have eaten in the Mediterranean region.  The green color and the freshness almost brings back the feel of eating this on a beachfront.

Pair it with a chilled dry white wine and great company and you can’t have a better start to a weekend foodie blast.

Ingredients:

Baby Spinach/Lamb Lettuce – 125 gms.

Crunchy green apple – 1

Cherry Tomatoes – 200 gms

Capsicum – Yellow/Red – 1 each

Wild Rocca leaves – 125 gms.

Corn – 1 can

Pomegranate – pearls from one fruit

Pine nuts – 100 gms

Parmesan cheese – a block of 150 gms.

The dressing:

Olive Oil – 5 Tablespoons

Balsamic vinegar – 2 Teaspoons

Lime Juice – half a lime squeezed

Dijon Mustard – 1 Teaspoon

Caster sugar – half teaspoon

Pepper/ Salt – to taste

Preparation of Ingredients

Rinse and dry the baby spinach or lamb lettuce and the wild Rocca leaves and keep them aside. With a sharp knife, core and  slice the green apple into thin wafers. Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves to get the flavors out. Cut the capsicums into two, remove the pith and seeds and slice them into juliennes.  Drain the can of corn. Shell the pomegranate and separate out the pearls. Lightly toast the pine seeds over a low fire taking great care not to burn or blacken them. Shave the Parmesan cheese and keep it aside.

The Dressing

Mix together all the dressing ingredients in a mixing bottle and shake well.

Putting it together

Use a large salad bowl big enough to easily toss the ingredients as they are added.  Start by putting in the spinach and rocca leaves. Add the capsicum. Add the green apple slices and the cut cherry tomatoes. Now add the corn and pomegranate pearls and toss well.  Now add the dressing and mix with a large wooden spoon so that the salad is well coated in the dressing.

When it is time to serve add the pine nuts and the Parmesan shavings on top.  A couple of twists of the pepper mill on top and it is ready to serve.

Serve this salad with some warm corn bread and a glass of chilled white. Enough said, On with the meal… Buono Apetito…