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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Spinach and Citrus Salad w/ Ginger-Sesame Dressing

Carotenoids, Fiber, Lutein, Lycopene, Omega-3's, Potassium, Vitamin C, Gingerol, and Isoflavones.  I bet those were the first things that popped into your head when you saw the photo of this salad, weren't they?  Yes.  I thought the same thing.

NOT.

It was all about the deep, gorgeous colors when this was on the table.  But the same things that make this salad such a looker are exactly those things I mentioned above.  The jewel-tones of segmented grapefruit in two colors, blood orange, and apricots adorn the tender green leaves of baby spinach.  Candied nuts gleaming with a thin shell of sugar are tucked amongst these bright bursts of color.  And the musky, seductive scent of sesame oil and ginger complete the experience.

If you don't do it for the looks...you've got to make this for the awesome health benefits and fantastic flavors!

Spinach and Citrus Salad w/ Ginger Sesame Dressing


by Heather Schmitt-GonzƔlez
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Keywords: salad vegan citrus spinach ginger blood orange


Ingredients (serves 8-12)
    Salad

    • 10-12 oz. baby spinach
    • 2 ruby red grapefruit, segmented
    • 2 white grapefruit, segmented
    • 4 blood oranges, segmented
    • 4 oz. candied walnuts (see below)
    • 4 oz. candied hazelnuts (see below)
    • 4 oz. dried apricots, julienned
    • Ginger Sesame Dressing (see below)
    Quick Candied Nuts

    • ½ c. sugar
    • 1½ c. nuts (any type...I used equal parts walnuts and hazelnuts here)
    • coarse salt
    Ginger Sesame Dressing

    • ¼ c. grated ginger root
    • ¼ c. soy sauce
    • ¼ c. rice vinegar
    • ¼ c. sesame oil
    • freshly ground black pepper
    Instructions
    Salad

    Place spinach in a large serving bowl. Toss with as much dressing as you'd like (start with about half of the recipe and adjust as needed).

    Add grapefruit and blood orange segments, apricots, and candied nuts. Toss again gently. Serve and enjoy!

    Quick Candied Nuts (yield: 1½ c.)

    Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a lined baking sheet. Slide into oven and bake for ~5 minutes or until golden and lightly toasted. Set aside to cool a bit.

    Place sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium, stirring with a wooden spoon once the sugar starts melting. Stir until sugar has completely melted and medium-amber in color. Quickly add the nuts to the pan and stir quickly to coat each one.

    Turn out onto a silpat or sheet of parchment and working quickly, use a couple of forks to separate the nuts. Sprinkle with a good smattering of salt and allow to cool completely.

    Ginger Sesame-Dressing (yield: ~1 c.)

    Combine all of the ingredients (black pepper to taste) in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake it up!

    You could easily half this recipe as you probably won't use it all here...but it's so good that you might like having the extra around.

    Salad & dressing adapted from FoodTrients. Nuts slightly adapted from Simply Recipes.
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    made with love mondays Tasty Tuesdays 33 shades of green tasty-tuesday-larger-logo1 hearthnsoul150 a little birdie told me rook no. 17 Souper_Sundays2 show me what you  got link party afw Foodiefridaymark-1

    Would you like to comment?

    1. Fruity-nutty salad looks super healthy and appetizing.

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    2. How refreshing!!

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    3. so healthy and yummy too...

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    4. Those are gorgeous colors indeed!! What a combination.

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    5. I have been waiting for you to post the recipe for this salad!  So gorgeous!  

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    6. This looks delicious and I love how much nutrition can be packed into something so light and refreshing. It's a meal in one - my favorite kind of salad :) And you made your own candied nuts! Awesome... I'm so glad you shared...

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    7. Mmm, love ginger dressing -- come on, summer salads!

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    8. A refreshing and tasty salad. Love ginger dressing.

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    9. This salad majorly made my heart skip a beat. I actually read somewhere just the other day that eating citrus with spinach helps you absorb more of it's iron. Given my slight anemia...I need this! literally!

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    10. I could DRINK ginger dressing, I love it so much. Thanks for posting this!

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    11. Adore the ginger dressing and the combination of beautiful fresh ingredients and nutrients! My hope is that if we keep eating like we're in summer, it might somehow magically return to us, and trade in this dreary near-winter weather with some sun! :)

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    12. Looks so fresh and healthy to me, I've been eating on the road for 4 days and I'm starting to get crabby!

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    13. Tessa@ Tessa the Domestic DivaApril 25, 2012 at 12:31 PM

      This is one pretty salad, thanks for sharing with us again on AFW!

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    14. Love this salad! Great combination of fruit and vegetables and the dressing - Perfect!

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    15. I must admit, the nutrients were really not the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw this gorgeous colourful salad! I love all the ingredients, and the dressing sounds so flavourful and delicious. Thank you for the quick candied nuts recipe as well!

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    16. Wild favors going on in this salad, so healthy too. Please share this on my foodie friday linky today.

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    17. That is a colorful salad... love it.

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    18. I'm in the process of reviewing FoodTrients right now and deciding what to make and the dressing really caught my eye. Such a healthy and beautiful salad--thanks for sharing it with Souper Sundays this week. ;-)

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    19. This really is a cool salad. thanks for sharing it on foodie friday hope to see you back next week.

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    20. I could just drink the ginger dressing! Okay, that might be extreme but I love the stuff.

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