Warm Spinach Salad (Serves 4)

 

This is a nutritious tasty salad that can be served cold or with the topping slightly warm.

 

Ingredients

300 g of baby spinach leaves

1 1/2 large red sweet peppers or if available Romano peppers

 2 tablespoons of pine nuts

3 medium ripe tomatoes

! Medium ripe avocado

Coarse ground black pepper to taste

Salt to taste

 

 

Method

Slice the tomatoes in half and sprinkle a little olive oil, salt and black pepper on the top and place them in an oven proof dish that has had two tablespoons of olive oil spread along the bottom. Put them on the middle shelf of a preheated oven at gas mark four for half an hour. When cooked they should be softened and the oil should be mixed with some of the juice from the tomatoes. You do not want them too soft/ dissolving or burned and dry. Alternatively microwave them for 20 seconds at 850W checking to ensure they are softened but still firm. (They tend to dissolve into liquid quickly this way so be very careful to warm them in short bursts. If they do dissolve don’t worry just mash them with a fork and spread them over the spinach just the same as a dressing, - it will just have a slightly different taste and appearance)

 

Place the peppers over a low flame and turn slowly until the skin begins to blacken and peel. Remove and place in a closed plastic bag for 5 minutes. Remove the cooled pepper from the bag and scrape off the peel.  Cut the peppers in quarters and remove the stalk, seeds and white pith then cut into fork sized strips.  Put them to one side.

 

Place the pine nuts on a baking tray and place at the top of the oven for no more than five minutes until they become a light brown toasted colour. Check them often as they burn quickly.  

 

Wash and drain the spinach leaves, tearing them into smaller pieces by hand if required. Spread them across the bottom of the serving dish.  Drizzle the oil from the tomatoes roasting dish over the spinach. Chop the softened tomatoes over the spinach and add the peppers and chopped avocado pieces then the pine nuts.

 

 

Tips

If you do not have baby spinach leaves which are softer to eat raw then you can microwave spinach leaves lightly to soften them. This is not ideal so take care not to cook the spinach and make it wet - make sure they just begin to wilt or warm and then stop.

 

You can use roasted hazelnuts with the skins rubbed off instead of pine nuts.

 

Avocado discolours if left standing once peeled so add it just before serving.  You can brush it lightly with lemon juice but this will affect the taste of the salad.