Strawberry Spinach Salad is one of my family's favorite salads. Now that berries are in season at last, we've been enjoying it at least once a week. I wanted to make something a little different this time and so I played with the recipe a bit more than usual. This simple salad of baby spinach leaves, slightly tart green grapes, sweet berries, crunchy onions and almonds is topped with spicy strawberry and grape vinaigrette creating a very different salad that my husband, my oldest son and I absolutely loved. My younger boys were quite happy to avoid the spice in this version with a simple plate of fruit for themselves.
This salad was completely gone within minutes of tossing it with the dressing for our lunch. I loved the added crunch and slight heat that the spicy almonds added to the salad. The cayenne pepper made the dressing an unexpected surprise of cool fruit flavors with just a slight lingering heat. The grapes were a fun addition as well and a great way to remind myself that there is more to salad eating than just our favorites.
Spicy Spinach Fruit Salad with Strawberry Grape Vinaigrette
Salad Ingredients:
4 cups baby spinach leaves
10-12 strawberries, stemmed and sliced
1/2 cup green grapes, halved
1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons Sweet and Spicy Cayenne Roasted Almonds, or the nut of your choice
Dressing Ingredients:
6 large berries, stems removed
10 large green grapes, about 1/4 cup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar, plain balsamic will work as well, add more as desired
tiny pinch of kosher salt
generous dash or two of cayenne pepper, adjust to taste, I liked it pretty spicy
Place the berries and grapes for the dressing in the blender, add the oil and vinegar and puree until smooth. Should only take a few moments, scrape the sides as needed. Add the salt and cayenne pepper and pulse to combine. Taste and adjust as desired. Pour into a jar and chill until serving.
Place the almonds in a ziploc bag, press the air out and seal. Crush into a crunchy powder with a few whacks of a wooden spoon. Set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the spinach, berries, grapes and onion. Toss to combine and drizzle with as much dressing as desired. (I only used about 1/4 of the dressing for this salad. The rest will keep well in the fridge for at least a week.) Toss to coat the salad with dressing and then top with the crushed almonds. Enjoy!
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