Spinach Salad with Cheese, Walnuts and Raisins
March 25, 2008
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 a 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!
Entry Filed under: Appetizers, Vegetables, Vegetarian. Tags: appetizer, cheese, food, raisins, salad, Vegetables, Vegetarian, vinegar, walnuts.
23 Comments Add your own
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed
1.
familiabencomo | March 25, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Perfect! I love the simplicity! You’re right about having this accompany a “meaty” meal. This will work well for all the grilling we do during the summer.
xoxox Amy
2.
Gretchen Noelle | March 25, 2008 at 3:25 pm
This looks great! I love this flavor combination!
3.
Elle | March 26, 2008 at 8:32 am
That is my kind of salad! We always have spinach salad, and I find that the simplest dressings are the best. The one I usually make is pretty much exactly like yours.
4.
Patricia Scarpin | March 26, 2008 at 10:33 am
Delicious salad - I love spinach.
5.
Asli | March 26, 2008 at 11:12 am
Hi Farida!
This morning I woke up to see my little spinach salad recipe found a place in your blog. Actually, as I see it from the comments made here, it is known by many, and I got the recipe from my health freak friend, Cheah Ling! When you add an apple to this recipe and some fresh bread on side, it becomes a meal itself.
Also, your blog has been very useful cooking source and a very pleasant read for me. I love the way you start your recipes, and it absolutely shows that you were an English major.
I entered my e-mail address for the subscription of your blog, so I will not miss any recipes. Lastly, I love the recipe index that provides quick access to all of your recipes!
Happy eating, everybody!
6.
farida | March 26, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Amy, Gretchen, Elle, Patricia, Asli:
Thank you for your comments. You can pretty much add anything available in your cupboard to the salad as long as there is spinach too
Asli, thanks for being such a good friend!
7.
Hülya Polat | March 26, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Feride’ciğim,
gene nefis bir tarif paylasmissin.Ispanagiı hic bu sekilde denememistim.ellerine saglik.en kisa zamanda denemek istiyorum.Sevgiler
8.
Vic Brown | March 26, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Greetings Farida, Asli sent me this link and I was so happy to see her spinach salad here. This is a salad I have also made for years with a little variations. I like to put drained mandarin oranges in place of apples, and sometimes I use currants or cranberries or chopped apricots for the dried fruit component. The dressing of extra virgen olive oil and fresh lemon is my favorite for cooked spinach also. What a nice end of a hot day meal this is. Thanks, Vic
9.
Seena | March 26, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Farida,
I have stored much feta cheese and was thinking how to finish it. This spincah, we would take with pepper and lemon with some other veggies too. So will try this next time..
10.
farida | March 26, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Hulya: salatami begendiyine sevindim
Kolay ve pratik. Afiyet olsun!
Vic: Thanks for visiting my blog! Yes, you can add pretty much anything available at hand to spinach. I was tempted to empty my cupboard but stopped, thinking the simpler the better
Please visit again!
Seena: Yes, spinach is good with other veggies, too, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers. I think the possibilities for this salad are endless
11.
Jamie | March 26, 2008 at 11:18 pm
This is great! What a healthy and light dish. I agree with Amy, it’s going to be a tasty compliment to all of our summer grilling.
Thanks for the recipe. BTW, the golden raisins are the perfect touch.
Best of health to everyone. J
12.
farida | March 26, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Jamie, thanks for stopping by. The golden raisins are a popular item in Azerbaijani cupboard, so I couldn’t ignore them.
Oh, you have a nice blog I would recommend to my health-conscious readers!
13.
Elisabeth | March 27, 2008 at 1:09 am
That is one of my favorite salads! Simple and delicious.
14.
JennDZ_The LeftoverQueen | March 27, 2008 at 9:14 am
I love these kinds of salads!
They make me happy. What also makes me really happy today is that you joined The Foodie Blogroll. You are the first blog we have about Azerbaijani food! So exciting! Sounds similar to many of the southern European/Middle Eastern cuisines of which I am so fond! So,
Welcome to The Foodie Blogroll!
Hope to see you on the forum as well!
15.
farida | March 27, 2008 at 11:34 am
Elisabeth: Thank you for stopping by! I am glad you like the salad!
Jenn: I am very excited to be a part of the foodie community! Thanks for adding me. See you in forums
16.
Joy | March 29, 2008 at 12:22 am
Simple, yet yummy. I sounds/looks so refreshing. I’ll try this with dried blueberries (because I don’t like raisins, oddly enough).
17.
Rosa | March 30, 2008 at 2:17 am
This salad looks delicious! I love the combination of ingredients!
Cheers,
Rosa
18.
scotchcart | March 30, 2008 at 5:19 am
I was lovely! I added the apple and dressed it with a chilli, garlic, ginger, honey and orange juice dressing (no oil) that I had prepared for something else.
It made a lovely lunch on its own with butternut soup. Great for those dieting days! Add some good bread for people who are hungry.
19.
farida | March 31, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Joy: yes, blueberries would go in the salad just as well. i like their taste, too.
Rosa: Rosa, thank you!
Scotchcart: thanks for visiting! I am going to try it with apples, too.
20.
Nini | March 31, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Hi Farida! saw you on the Food Blogroll and decided to visit your site
I love spinach, unfortunately the kind that we have in the Philippines can not be dressed in this way :/ but I love your pics, just looking at it makes me feel full. Thanks for posting it! I am going to save your recipe for future reference 
21.
farida | April 1, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Hi Nini, thank you for visiting my blog.Glad you like it! It’s encouraging me to do a better job
Please visit again!
22.
Katie B. | April 2, 2008 at 8:58 am
I have some dried apricots, walnuts and goat cheese kicking around at home - all I need is the spinach! Can’t wait to try this!
23.
Anjali J. | April 8, 2008 at 6:18 am
Hey Thanks Farida, thats my pleasure. U r most welcome. i really like ur recipes and ur recipe picture too.. next time i make it a point to visit ur blog when i search for any recipe. i will bookmark it