Deep South Eats: Jamie's Spinach Salad

This salad is perfect for an entree salad with grilled chicken on top or a side. It is great for weeknights and parties. The dressing will keep for a good bit in the fridge but won't last long as you will use it very quickly - it is SO good. My little nut also loves this salad as long as I cut the stems off her spinach.


I was originally introduced by my friend Erin (the mom-to-be of the Pop! shower) to this salad and there are very few group gatherings where this salad isn't a participating guest. I hope this salad finds its way into your repertoire.


Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of slivered almonds, toasted
• 1 pound spinach, rinsed and torn into bite size pieces
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (you can buy these pre-toasted which I recommend as sesame seeds toast and then burn very quickly)
• 1 Tablespoon of poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 2 teaspoons of minced onion
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

• In a large bowl combine spinach, toasted almonds, and dried cranberries.
• In a bottle or bowl combine sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, vinegars, and oil. Shake (bottle) or whisk (bowl) together to combine well. 
• Toss small amounts with spinach until you achieve your preference of dressing to ingredients.
• May store leftover dressing in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

I love to use this bottle to mix up and store the dressing. This salad is also really nice to take for meals to people who are "shut-in" i.e. new babies, sick, etc. I just recommend sending the spinach mix and dressing separately.

Recipe adapted from Jamie's Cranberry Spinach Salad at All Recipes.