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.
That’s just WAY too temptingly delicious. This is perfect for my New Year’s eve dinner.
Thank you for sharing the recipe.