Spinach and Pear Salad with Curried Cashews and Honey-Sesame Vinaigrette
This salad provides more than just a delicious flavour combination. Each one of the three parts - from the nuts to the dressing - adds vital nutrients to help form a well-balanced meal. Fresh nuts and seeds aid heart health as they add natural polyunsaturated fats and minerals such as calcium. Cashews, in particular, provide copper, zinc, and magnesium, which are essential for many body processes. Recent research shows that consuming a small amount of nuts daily not only promotes heart and cardiovascular health but can also reduce gallstone risk.
Making salad dressing at home is a great opportunity to supplement with healthy oils, herbs, and seasonings such as garlic or ginger.
Curried Cashews:
3/4 cup (175 mL) cashews
1 Tbsp (15 mL) extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp (5 mL) fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp (5 mL) curry powder
1 tsp (5 mL) dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) sea salt
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) cayenne pepper
Honey-Sesame Vinaigrette:
3 Tbsp (45 mL) white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp (45 mL) Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp (30 mL) honey
1 tsp (5 mL) minced fresh garlic
3 Tbsp (45 mL) sesame seeds, toasted
1/2 cup (125 mL) cold-pressed organic grape-seed oil
Sea salt, to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Spinach and Pear Salad:
12 cups (3 L) baby spinach, washed and loosely packed
6 cups (1.5 L) frisée (curly endive), washed and loosely packed
1/2 cup (125 mL) peeled and thinly sliced red onion
3 small ripe pears, thinly sliced
2 cups (500 mL) red grapes
To prepare Curried Cashews, preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Roast cashews on baking sheet until golden, about 8 minutes, but watch carefully so they do not burn. Meanwhile combine oil, rosemary, curry powder, sugar, salt, and cayenne in a medium bowl. Remove cashews from oven and add them to bowl while still hot. Mix well to coat. Set aside.
To prepare Honey-Sesame Vinaigrette, whisk together vinegar, mustard, honey, garlic, and sesame seeds in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in grape-seed oil and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Now assemble the salad. On a large serving platter, lay out baby spinach leaves. Tear frisée into bite-size portions and place frisée with red onion on top of spinach. Decorate with pear slices, red grapes, and Curried Cashews. Just before serving, drizzle some of the Honey Sesame Vinaigrette over the salad. Alternatively, add everything together to a large bowl and toss with a generous amount of dressing. Serve immediately. Serves 6.
source: "Your Vegetable Garden May Be Your Best Nutrient Source", alive #374, August 2005
Spinach and Pear Salad with Curried Cashews and Honey-Sesame Vinaigrette
Directions
Sally Errey, RNCP
Sally Errey, RNCP, is an acclaimed speaker and author on optimum health through nutrition and lifestyle. She is author of Staying Alive! Cookbook for Cancer Free Living (Belissimo Books, 2004).
READ THIS NEXT
SEE MORE »
GF Almond Tahini Ice Cream Cookie Cake
Ice cream cakes and/or cookies are everyone’s favourite. And here’s a great option for a delicious “Dad’s” cookie cake that’s gluten free! A simple-to-make cookie cake that’s made even easier when the dough is tossed together in a food processor. End a delicious Dad’s Day meal with this deliciously cool and creamy sweet dessert. Best beer? Extra yum when served with small glasses of chocolate-flavoured stout or porter. When Dad loves his cookies We made this delicious dessert into a cake, but it can easily be made into individual ice cream cookies. Roll out dough into 1/4 in (6 mm) thickness and cut into 2 in (5 cm) rounds. Bake, cool, and chill. Once chilled, spoon ice cream in between chilled cookies. Freeze until firm. Drizzle with melted chocolate or dip into melted chocolate.
Pork Tenderloin with Espresso BBQ Sauce
Coffee-flavoured BBQ sauce? Why not? It’s a strikingly flavourful combo—sweet, tangy, bold, and rich. It can be used not only on pork but on a variety of other meats. We marinated tenderloin in it and doubled up on the smoky flavour by grilling it on a cedar plank. Serve with a side order of grilled broccolini for extra yum. Best beer? You can’t go wrong with an IPA or a honey lager to complement this flavourful dish. Looking for an easy way to grill broccolini? Toss with a little oil and season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Near the end of grilling, place broccolini beside plank with tenderloin on hot grill for about 6 or 7 minutes. Using tongs, turn a few times until tender and lightly charred. Place on platter with sliced pork and drizzle with lemon juice and some shaved Parmesan.
Everything-But-Meat Salad
If there’s a vegan or vegetarian in the crowd, then this dish will be sure to please. Chock full of complementary textures and flavours, it not only qualifies as eye candy, but is also a substantial stand-alone meal—a stunning meal in a dish! Best beer? Serve this salad with an IPA or pale ale. For a more adventurous sip, it’s equally delicious with a Belgian pale or dark ale. Endlessly customizable When it comes to this powerhouse salad, the sky’s the limit. Swap out apples with orange wedges, or mix up your greens by substituting spinach for endive. Bump up the protein with some canned chickpeas or black beans, if you wish. Or cut up some corn tortillas into bite-sized strips, fry in pan until crisp, then toss over salad for added crunch.
Grilled New Potatoes and Lentils with Creamy Lemon Dressing
Early summer potatoes, cooked and grilled, are just the ticket for this fabulous salad. Coupled with lentils, they’re a delicious add-on to any meal plan. This recipe offers an added bonus: it can be made in stages, so you’re not cooking all afternoon. Best beer? You can’t go wrong serving this dreamy salad with a simple and uncomplicated pale ale. Variety is the spice of potato-salad life Potato salad lends itself to any number of variations, and this recipe doesn’t disappoint. Try swapping out microgreens for baby spinach leaves. Another interesting slant: crisp up (optional) prosciutto on the grill before breaking into bite-sized pieces and scattering over the salad.