Walnut

Spinach Salad with Cheese, Walnuts and Raisins

AZ Cookbook | Spinach Salad with Walnuts

My spinach repertoire continues. This time I added a spinach salad I learned from my dear friend Asli. They came over for dinner the other day. The table was set… but I was missing a salad. I had a bag of baby spinach sitting in my refrigerator and Asli suggested we make spinach salad with walnuts, cheese and apples. The husbands protested against having apples in the salad (cultural thing?), so we ended up using cheese and walnuts only. Asli tossed the salad with some olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice, and it made a perfect accompaniment to our mostly carnivorous table. I made the salad many times after that, changing it slightly along the way (such as adding raisins), and wanted to share it with you. You can increase or decrease the amount of ingredients to your taste. The salad is quick, simple, delicious and nutritious. Isn’t it what we all want sometimes?

SPINACH SALAD WITH CHEESE, WALNUTS AND RAISINS

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Serves 4


INGREDIENTS

1 bag (6 oz / 170 g) baby spinach (if leaves are too big, chop them coarsely), washed and dried
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese or any other white cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup golden raisins

For the Dressing
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon balsamic or apple cider vinegar (optional, but I love it in my salad)

1. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil with the lemon juice and vinegar if using.

2. Add the spinach, cheese, walnuts and raisins and toss thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (If you are using feta cheese, you don’t have to add salt to the salad since feta cheese is salty enough). Serve right away. Enjoy!