Spinach and Apple Salad with Crispy Almonds

I make this spinach and apple salad pretty regularly as a side salad for just about anything; it’s super-easy to make, and the ingredients keep a long time (except for the spinach, of course), so it’s easy to whip up if you want to add some greens to a meal. It’s also delicious, and a little unexpected compared to my usual go-to salads with a Dijon-based vinaigrette – the crisp freshness of the Granny Smiths, the light heat of the smoked paprika, the toasty-buttery almonds, and the earthiness of the sesame seeds come together beautifully.

The dressing for this spinach and apple salad keeps in the fridge for a week at least, but the oil will thicken in the cold, so you’ll want to pull it out of the fridge at least half an hour before you want to use it.

I generally use maple syrup as a sweetener in vinaigrettes; I always have it on-hand, and it combines beautifully and easily. You can use any sweetener you like – honey, sugar, agave, whatever – and adjust the sweetness to your taste

Spinach and Apple Salad with Crispy Almonds

Makes 6 to 8 Servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or other sweetener)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Crispy Almonds

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup blanched slivered almonds

Salad

• baby spinach (1-2 cups per person)
• 3-4 Granny Smith apples (I usually use half an apple per person)

Instructions

1. Combine vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl or a mason jar with a lid, and whisk or shake to combine.
2. In a frying pan on low-medium heat, add butter and almonds and cook, stirring frequently (I often screw this up and burn them by forgetting to stir, or turning the heat up too high out of impatience).
3. When many of the almonds are golden, remove pan from heat. If any are dark brown, remove almonds from the pan and set aside.
4. Chop spinach into bite-sized pieces.
5. Slice Granny Smith apples into bit-sized pieces.
6. Arrange spinach and Granny Smith slices on a plate
7. Shake or whisk vinaigrette ingredients to recombine, and spoon over salad
8. Top with almonds and serve.

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