In Praise of Spinach
I had forgotten how delicious spinach can be. Finding lovely, dark green bunches of Savoy Spinach on sale, I bought some, and I’ve been in heaven all week! Thinking I would tire of the same old spinach salad, I found myself experimenting and coming up with some great variations.
My basic spinach salad consisted of the fresh spinach, topped with fresh sliced mushrooms, chopped, boiled egg, crumbled bacon, red onion, pine nuts, mandarin oranges, and a simple vinaigrette. Yummy!
For a bit of nostalgia, I used 1000 Island Dressing one day instead of the vinaigrette.
Yet another day I topped the salad with cooked, sliced chicken and made a little soy-based vinaigrette with fresh grated ginger and pressed garlic.
Today I mixed in some baby arugula, omitted the red onion and bacon, topped the salad with leftover sliced beef tenderloin, and made a mustard/horseradish vinaigrette. Very tasty, and the textures were great together.
Spinach also makes a great sandwich topping; I made a great beef pot roast sandwich (on toasted french bread) topped with spinach, red onion, tomato, black olives, horseradish, mayo and lots of cracked black pepper.
I plan on taking the rest of my delicious greens and sauteeing them with garlic and red pepper, for a delicious side dish.
Hint: To properly wash spinach, SOAK, do not just rinse, the leaves in a large sink of water. The capillary action of the leaves opens up the cracks and crevices of the spinach, releasing the grit. Repeat several times until you do not feel or see any grit in the bottom of your sink.
