Say Yes to the Dress-ing: Spinach Salad with Honeycrisp Apples, Pepitas, WI Cheddar & Sweet Basi
I'm not gonna lie. This salad is all about the dressing. Apples, cheese and pepitas are great, obviously. This sweet basil dressing sure takes the cake, though. In order for the rest of it to have any street cred up against the dressing, I gave it some local flair by using Honeycrisp apples (Minnesota's specialty) and Wisconsin cheddar. I went with a mild Mammoth Cheddar since it was on sale at Whole Foods. I normally prefer a pungent and tangy sharp cheddar, but the mild lended a bit of smooth creaminess in contrast to the pleasantly tart honeycrisp crunch.
But the dressing. Oh, the dressing. It's sweet and just oozes summery, fresh-from-the-farmers-market flavors. Hopefully soon we'll actually be able to buy basil at the farmers market! In the meantime, check out this post regarding the procurement of cheap, fresh basil. You'll want to douse any and all things in this dressing. I used the leftover dressing to bathe fish. I put it in an Italian vegetable stew to add flavor. I licked it off spoons. You get the picture.
This salad would be a nice side to the Cheddar, Swiss & Basil Mac I posted not too long ago, as well as the Feta, Chedda, Tomato & Peppa Soup I posted last week. Or even just a simple grilled cheese made from the leftover cheddar.
Spinach Salad with Honeycrisp Apples, Pepitas, WI Cheddar & Sweet Basil Dressing
Serves: Salad serves 2-4 as a side; you'll likely have leftover dressing
Prepartion Time: 10 minutes
Sweet Basil Dressing:
1 very large handful of fresh basil leaves (dried basil will not work for this)
1 garlic clove
2 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. dijon mustard
2 tsp. rice vinegar (or other light vinegar, like white wine vinegar)
1 tsp. herbs de provence
1/3 c. good quality olive oil
salt/pepper, to taste
For the salad:
baby spinach
small block of cheddar cheese, diced
1 Honeycrisp apple, chopped
large handful of pepitas, toasted
Method:
1. Place all ingrediens except olive oil and salt/pepper in food process. Process until the basil is well-chopped and somewhat uniform. Slowly drizzle in olive oil with food processor running until the mixture is smooth and can easily be poured. Add more olive oil if necessary. Taste test for balance of flavors, adding any additional ingredients as necessary. Season with salt/pepper to taste.
2. Toss greens with desired amount of dressing in a large bowl. Top with cheddar, apples and pepitas.
