It never fails.
You sit down to dinner at someone's house and out comes the salad; a plate filled with mixed field greens, cherry tomatoes, sliced cukes and other boring ingredients.
I like salad, but with a great meal I don't want too much because I don't want to waste valuable stomach space with a bunch of greens.
I reduced this salad in volume so it would give the impression of being smaller.
I made this for Mid Sis's birthday feast on Saturday.
Spinach Salad with Fresh Basil, Toasted Pine Nuts, Turkish Apricots and Shaved Peccorino with Sherry Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
1 package organic baby spinach
20 fresh basil leaves, sliced into a chiffonade
12 small dried apricots, cut into thin strips
1/4 c. toasted pine nuts
1/4 lb. peccorino or other hard cheese, shaved
sherry vinaigrette to taste
Put spinach in mixing bowl
Take basil leaves and nestle them on top of each other in descending size. Roll into a tight bunch, like a cigar. Slice into thin ribbons from end to end.
Add to spinach and mix in well. Too much basil or basil in too large a piece stings the mouth, hence the thin ribbons.
Add dressing and mix well. Taste it.
Return to refrigerator for at least two hours so the spinach and basil absorb the dressing and reduce in volume.
Place a mound of the spinach mix in the middle of a salad plate. Adorn with apricots, pine nuts and cheese.
No need for salt or pepper, unless you must.
