Thursday, June 1, 2017

Spinach & Beet Salad with Lemon-Oregano Vinaigrette


Spinach & Beet Salad with
Lemon-Oregano Vinaigrette


I could go on and on about this salad. I love it!  This salad is my attempt to duplicate a salad I have at one of my very favorite restaurants - Jake and Telly's Greek Taverna in Old Colorado City, Colorado (just west of Colorado Springs).

The salad I love at Jake & Telly's is a bed of baby spinach, tossed in a lemon-oregano dressing, that is topped the creamiest feta cheese, beets, candied walnuts, and some red onion.  I kind of forgot about the red onion and I decided to just have plain walnuts in place of candied walnuts.  Of course my salad is not identical to the salad at Jake & Telly's, but I am loving this salad.  I made four of these salads at once and they are quickly disappearing from the refrigerator.  For a little protein, I have been adding a chopped hard boiled egg to each salad; the egg is a great addition and pairs well with the other ingredients.


I made a Lemon-Oregano vinaigrette for this salad.  I don't think the salad dressing at Jake & Telly's includes any red wine vinegar but the recipe I found on line calls for red wine vinegar and fresh lemon juice.  I love the Lemon-Oregano dressing I made. I found the recipe on a website called www.cookingcontestcentral.com

Lemon-Oregano Vinaigrette
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used kosher salt)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)

Directions:  In a medium bowl, combine garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and red wine vinegar.  Whisk to combine.

While whisking, steam in the olive oil. Whisk well.

I used about 2 tablespoons of salad dressing for each salad.

For the Spinach and Beet Salad (Makes 4 salads)

1 bag (8 ounces) baby kale and baby spinach - or just use baby spinach (I used Marketside brand baby kale and baby spinach from WalMart)
1 can (14.5 ounces) sliced beets (I used DelMonte brand), drained (roughly chopped)
crumbled feta cheese
chopped walnuts
4 hard boiled eggs (optional)

Divide the greens among 4 plastic storage containers.  Divide the beets, cheese, feta, walnuts, and eggs (if using) among the four containers.  Do not add the dressing to the salads until ready to serve.  Top each salad with a tight fitting lid and store in the refrigerator.

Lemon-Oregano Vinaigrette recipe link
https://cookingcontestcentral.com/recipes/greek-islands-salad-lemon-oregano-vinaigrette/

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