Thanks again to The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner for this delicious salad. It was a bit hit with the Spaghetti and Meat Sauce. I meant to take pictures as it was such a pretty salad too, but I totally forgot. She had strawberries in hers, which aren’t in season now but would taste great. I added some red onion for color and flavor.
Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
Spinach Salad
- 4-6 cups spinach
- 1/2 cup grated Swiss or Gruyere cheese
- 1/2 cup canned mandarin oranges, drained
- 1/2 cup sugared pecans see below
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
- poppy seed dressing see below
Sugared Pecans
- 2/3 cups pecans
- 1/4 cup sugar
Poppy Seed Dressing
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp poppy seeds
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp minced onion I used dehydrated onion actually
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
Instructions
Sugared Pecans
- Heat the sugar and pecans in a small skillet until the sugar melts. Stir well so the nuts are coated, then spread on a sheet of aluminum foil to cool. Break the nuts apart. You can use instantly in a salad or refrigerate for several days or freeze for several months.
Salad and Dressing
- Mix the poppy seed dressing ingredients all together in a bowl with a whisk or in your blender.
- Toss the salad with the sugared pecans and dressing just before serving.
I had a fair bit of dressing leftover despite making a fairly large salad but it will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks and will just need reshaking before using again.
Leave a Reply