Spinach, Mandarin Orange, Toasted Almonds Salad
Nutrient-Rich Salad with Ginger-Kissed Dressing Pleases Year Round
Jun 11, 2009
Spinach is a rich source of iron and calcium and it tastes good, too. Combine it with a couple other simple ingredients and it makes a refreshing, enjoyable lunch or dinner salad that’s flavorful and healthy.
Spinach Salad Recipes Put New Twist on Leafy Greens
Spinach makes great salads and cooked side vegetables. It’s also a great filler for appetizers. The ways to use spinach are boundless. But the key is to use spinach soon after it’s picked or getting it home from the super market for maximum nutritional value. A quick easy salad like this one makes it a great dish for a spring luncheon, a great accompaniment to dinner or a special holiday salad.
Probably the easiest way to use spinach – and one of the most popular – is to make it into a raw spinach salad. While there are probably as many spinach salad recipes as there are cooks, here’s a flavorful salad that will even tempt so called salad haters.
Almond, Mandarin Orange, Ginger Dressing Give Spinach Zip
This salad uses canned mandarin orange sections and toasted slivered almonds to add flavor and crunch. An added benefit – adding oranges or other vitamin C rich foods to raw spinach enhances the absorption of iron from the spinach. Spinach has iron absorption inhibitors so when it’s served by itself, without accompanying foods that enhance iron absorption, limits the body’s ability to get the maximum nutritional benefit of the iron spinach offers the body is limited.
This salad is best made with baby spinach, drained mandarin oranges and toasted slivered almonds. Toasted slivered almonds enhance the flavor with their enhanced nutty taste. Rounding out the flavor is a special homemade dressing that adds flavor with a sweet, gingery taste.
Salad Ingredients
- Baby spinach
- Mandarin orange sections, drained
- Toasted slivered almonds
Dressing Ingredients
- 1 cup canola oil
- 2-4 Tablespoons rice vinegar or any neutral flavored white vineyard
- 2-4 Tablespoons ginger or orange marmalade
Directions
- Carefully wash hands, then wash and dry the spinach in a salad spinner. For each person to be served, put a handful or two of greens into the salad bowl.
- Toss in a generous amount of drained mandarin orange segments and top with toasted almond slivers.
- To mix the dressing, put two tablespoons of vinegar in a small bowl.
- Measure out a cup of canola oil and slowly, while stirring the vinegar with whisk, add in the oil with the vinegar slowly, emulsifying it as it blends.
- Add in two tablespoons full of marmalade, whisk to blend.
- Taste and adjust flavors with vinegar and marmalade to personal preference.
- Dress the salad lightly.This quantity of dressing should be sufficient for several dinner salads.
Plate the salads and enjoy!
