By Sybil Kaplan
Spinach may have originated 2,000 years ago in Persia but is native to central and western Asia. It is high in many vitamins and minerals, especially A and K and iron. Raw spinach is 91% water, 4% carbs and 3% protein.
Here are some salads that go well with summer dishes.
My Favorite Spinach Salad
4 servings
- 4 cups fresh chopped spinach
- 6-8 halved cherry tomatoes
- 2 medium kohlrabi, sliced
- 2 grated hard-boiled eggs
Dressing
- ½ teaspoon minced onion
- 1 crushed garlic clove
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon paprika
- Dash dry mustard
- Dash celery seeds
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1½ teaspoons water
1. In a salad bowl, combine spinach, cherry tomatoes, kohlrabi and eggs. Set aside.
2. In a jar, combine dressing ingredients, close and shake well.
Dress salad just before serving.
Crunchy Spinach Salad
4 servings
- I found this in a food magazine.
- 4 cups torn spinach
- 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
- ½ cup sliced, drained water chestnuts
- 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs
Dressing
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2½ tablespoons ketchup
- 1½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1. In a salad bowl, combine spinach, bean sprouts, water chestnuts and eggs.
- 2. In a bottle or jar, combine dressing ingredients. Cover and shake well to mix.
- Before serving, pour dressing over salad and toss.
Spinach Salad Dressing
1¼ cups
P. J. Clarke’s is a saloon in New York now at 3rd Ave and 55th Street, founded in 1884. The bar was once owned by a Patrick J. Clarke, an Irish immigrant who was hired in the early 1900s by a Mr. Duneen who ran the saloon. After about ten years working for him, Clarke bought the bar and changed the name. It is known as a hamburger and pub food restaurant.
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 large egg yolk or 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1 very small chopped garlic clove
- 1 cup olive oil
1. Blend all ingredients except oil in a food processor until smooth.
2. With motor running, add oil in a stream and blend. Transfer to a jar, cover and keep chilled until serving.
Sybil Kaplan is a journalist, compiler/editor of nine kosher cookbooks (working on a 10th) and food writer for North American Jewish publications, who lives in Jerusalem where she leads weekly walks of the Jewish food market, Machaneh Yehudah, in English, and has written the kosher restaurant features for Janglo.net, the oldest, largest website for English-language readers since 2014.
