Spinach Salad with Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette

This recipe, Spinach Salad with Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette, came from one of those happy accidents we all sometimes have.  Serendipity!  (Does anyone remember those books?) I was in the middle of  making a Caesar salad for dinner one night, and realized I was out of both eggs and anchovy paste!  I had half of a vinaigrette made, so I looked in the refrigerator for something to make it pop, worthy of a dinner salad.  There—far, far back on the shelf—was a nearly empty jar of sun-dried tomatoes.  Hmmm….

I put the ingredients for the dressing I’d already mixed in my food processor and emptied the jar of sun-dried tomatoes right in on top. I had about 2 tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes and almost a quarter cup of sun-dried tomato-flavored oil. Whiz, whiz!!  And taste – amazing!  Tart and tangy but it needed something a little creamy and fatty to offset it.  Aha!  Avocado and goat cheese!  Now, if you don’t have fresh herbs, just use small pinches of dried…or skip it, no biggie.  Dinner is done!  Et tu Caesar?  Who needs ya?!

Spinach Salad With Sun-dried Tomato Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves (I use the flowers from my plants, too)
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• splash of balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, plus as much of the oil as you can get out of the jar
• olive oil
• 1 bag of baby spinach leaves (wash again, no matter what the bag says!)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 2 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled
• cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Directions:

1. In your food processor, buzz together the mustard, garlic, herbs, and vinegars to combine.  Make sure the garlic and herbs are well broken down.
2. Add the sun-dried tomatoes along with as much oil as you can get out of the jar; and salt and pepper.  Combine again.  Check the consistency and add olive oil if you’d like to thin out the dressing.
3. Assemble the salad – a big bed of spinach, with bell pepper, sliced avocado, goat cheese, and cherry tomatoes on top.  Apply dressing liberally!

To make it a meal, you can add black olives and leftover cooked chicken (come to think of it, grilled shrimp might be good on this too!)  Serve with crusty bread and a white or rosé wine.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

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