I love it when Jose gets excited about cooking, and offers to make dinner! Tonight he made his porcini mushroom risotto. I guess he just had a hankering for it, and he knows that after a few days of cooking dinner, I’m ready for a break. I enjoy cooking, but NOT EVERYDAY! There was a bit of a chill in the air, too, which makes it a perfect evening to enjoy something warm and comforting. But while he’s an amazing cook, and this risotto is truly one of his specialties, he doesn’t always think about a veggie to serve alongside. Yeah, maybe mushrooms could be considered vegetables (are fungi technically vegetables?), but I crave something green and leafy with my risotto. I said I’d do salad, without really having a good sense for what salad fixins we had available. So while his risotto was coming together, I checked the contents of the fridge, and uncovered a good supply of fresh spinach, apples, and radishes. Perfect!
This is one of my favorite salads for fall and winter months. But who am I kidding? It’s delicious anytime of year! But keeping things seasonal here (at least for those of us in the Northern hemisphere) we try to go with what’s locally available, and the fresh, organic goodies that show up in our CSA box. Once our summer crops of tomatoes, cucumbers and other summer salad stand-bys have shut down for the colder months, we turn to the heartier greens, crispy radishes and apples to give our salads some variety and texture. And nuts, I love nuts on salad… so much better than croutons in my opinion. Plus, they add protein and don’t get soggy in the dressing. I feel so sorry for folks who are allergic to tree nuts. I honestly could live on them. Some days I do. But I digress, now back to the salad… A slightly sweet dijon honey dressing is a perfect complement to the fruit and greens. I generally love balsamic vinegar, but for this salad, with the apples, I like to stick with an apple cider vinegar. That and the olive oil add even more healthful components here. I ill often use walnut oil, and I love the nutty flavor it imparts, but thought olive oil in the salad might be a better match for the risotto.
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We love this combination of spinach, and crispy apples and radishes along with a slightly sweet honey Dijon dressing. Make sure to use a very crisp apple (like a Granny Smith or Fuji), not a mealy one (like Red or Golden Delicious).
If you have time to make the spiced walnuts or pecans for the salad, you won’t regret it (and they’re nice to have on hand for snacking, too), but some lightly toasted or even just raw nuts are good in here too. Make it vegan by omitting the cheese (although we’re huge fans of the flavor just a bit of cheese adds here).
You won’t need all the dressing for this amount of salad. This recipe makes extra because it keeps well in the fridge and it’s great to keep on hand for salads later in the week. SO MUCH BETTE than store bought salad dressings! I like my salads lightly dressed, so I use just enough vinaigrette to lightly coat all the leaves and other components, then let folks add more to their own salad at the table if they wish.
Ingredients
- 10 ounces baby spinach, washed and dried thoroughly
- 4-6 large radishes, thinly sliced
- 1 large crisp apple, cored and thinly sliced (I like Fuji or Granny Smith apples).
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 3/4 cup glazed, spiced walnuts or pecans (or just use slightly toasted or raw nuts)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 4 ounces soft crumbled feta or goat cheese (or use blue cheese if you prefer)
- Honey-Dijon dressing (recipe follows)
HONEY-DIJON VINAIGRETTE
- 1/3 cup walnut oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well, or place in a mason jar or dressing shaker and shake until well combined.
- In a large salad bowl, combine spinach, radish and apple slices and toss thoroughly with a a few tablespoons of the dressing. Add nuts, cranberries, and cheese and additional dressing if desired (to taste) and toss again. Offer the reserved dressing for individuals to add to their portion of salad.
- Reserve the rest of the dressing for another salad. The vinaigrette keeps well in the refrigerator, at least for a couple weeks. Before using again, allow dressing to come close to room temperature and shake or whisk.
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