Barely Wilted Spinach Salad
Description
Although my kitchen shelves are filled edge to edge with various cookbooks, I always find myself referring back to a select few. One happens to be Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Vegetables. The other day I was looking for a sautéed Brussels sprouts recipe, became unintentionally engrossed and found myself in the spinach section. In this section Alice Waters describes a simple method for making a warm spinach salad.
Ingreadient :
- 6 oz baby spinach
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 apple, peeled and small diced (I used a Honey Crisp)
- 1 medium shallot, small diced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
- 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette (see recipe below)
- 2 tsp. honey
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
- 6 tablespoons grapeseed oil
Direction :
- To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the honey, salt, pepper, garlic and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking constantly. Taste, adjust with more salt, pepper or oil if necessary. Store until ready to use.
- To make the salad, place the spinach in a large stainless steel bowl and set aside. Fill a straight-sided sauté pan with one inch of water and heat until just barely simmering. If the raisins are very dry and shriveled, place them in a bowl and cover with some boiling water. Let stand 10 minutes until nicely plumped, drain and set aside.
- In a medium-sized sauté pan, heat 2 tsp. of the olive oil over medium-high heat. When oil is barely smoking, add apples and sauté until nicely golden brown, but still hold their shape, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer apples to bowl with spinach.
- Heat remaining teaspoon of oil in pan, add shallots and sauté until soft and slightly caramelized, another 3-5 minutes. Add the pine nuts and the drained raisins and sauté for 15 seconds more, then transfer to the bowl with the spinach.
- Toss the spinach mixture with the 2 tablespoons of dressing and place bowl over pan with simmering water. Increase the heat to high and with tongs, gently toss spinach in bowl until nicely wilted. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
