Mother’s Day is just one week away, and in honor of that special day I have decided to spend this week focusing on recipes that would make a good addition to your Mother’s Day brunch or dinner.
This recipe comes by way of my Mother-in-Law, and as she passed away last November I wanted it to be the first Mother’s Day recipe I shared. She was famous (at least in our family!) for her salads, and she gave the recipe for this one to me at an engagement party she threw for Jason and I. I still have the recipe written down in a cookbook binder her mom, Jason’s sweet Oma, gave us as a gift at that party. This salad is a breeze to make with a curry dressing that is both a little spicy and sweet. Just like Nonie, this salad has a lot going on!
I usually make this for parties, prepping the dressing, greens, fruit and nuts ahead of time and tossing it all together right before dinner. And since it is a large salad, it is way too much for Jason and I to eat in one sitting. But we are ready for something a little more exciting in the salad department. I’m making it for our lunch this afternoon, reserving about half the ingredients for dinner later in the week.
Start with the red wine vinegar in a small bowl 
Add all the ingredients except the olive oil 
Whisk in the oil in a steady stream to finish the dressing 
Store the dressing in a glass jar until ready to use
I start by making the dressing, then wash my greens and toast the almonds. I’ll assemble the salad, leaving the toasted nuts and dressing off until right before serving. The dressing will solidify in the fridge, so I usually leave it on the counter until dinner time and then put any remaining dressing in the fridge.
Wash your greens well 
Spinach often has a lot of dirt still in it, so soaking is best
Curried Spinach Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, pressed
- 2 tbsp chives, minced
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 head red leaf lettuce
- 1 bunch spinach
- 1 cup red grapes, halved
- 1 11 oz can mandarin oranges
- 1 avocado, cubed
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Whisk together red wine vinegar, garlic, chives, brown sugar, curry powder, and soy sauce in small bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil in a steady stream.
- Toast slivered almonds in 350˚ oven for approximately 10 minutes, nuts should be a light golden color. Set aside to cool.
- Tear lettuce, and spinach leaves as needed, into bite size pieces in large salad bowl. Top with grapes, mandarin oranges, onion, avocado, and toasted almonds.
- Toss with dressing and serve immediately.