Yesterday marked the arrival of Summer and it’s about time! The past month here in Toronto has been cooler and rainier than usual but that hasn’t dampened my spirits.
Us Canadians are a happy lot, as long as there is no snow – it’s a good day! When the hot days arrive, I do eat lighter than usual and a salad with an omelet or a grilled fish suits me just fine.
This salad is from Greek chef Alexis Kardassis who contributed this dish to the Kerasama web site, promoting Greek food and drink.
Here, you will find lots of recipes that are plated with a modern, sophisticated touch and all the while still paying homage to the the traditional Greek ingredients and the dishes us Greeks grew up with.
This dish is centered around the famous “Bitter Delicious” apples of Kalyvia, in the Prefecture of Arcadia. Baby spinach gets tossed in a vinaigrette made of extra-virgin olive oil, fresh mint, the acid coming by way of oranges and grapefruit and lime.
You may tossed the ingredients and pile the salad up on a plat or if serving this to guests, take a few moments to create a towering salad and spoon over the vinaigrette to complete the dish.
With the apples slices figuring prominent here, this salad was actually quite filling. I wouldn’t say this is a meal replacement but served alongside a sandwich or some grilled fish and you have a complete meal.
Spinach Salad with Apples and Mint
(serves 2)
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
10 fresh mints leaves, chiffonade
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
1 stalk of celery, trimmed and chopped
1 delicious apple, cored and cut into thin slices
1 green apple, cored and into thin slices
1 orange, peeled and cut into segments
1 grapefruit, peeled and cut into segments
juice of 1 lime
salt and fresh ground pepper
2 large handfuls of baby spinach, washed and dried
- In a food processor, add your olive oil and mint leaves and process and amalgamated. Set aside and allow the mint to infuse the oil.
- Cut the peel off of your orange and grapefruit and cut the segments and place in a small and reserve. Squeeze all the juice that you out of what’s left of the orange and grapefruit plus the lime juice into another large bowl (large enough to toss the salad. Now add your sliced green and delicious apples and chopped red onion, celery and toss to coat (the citrus will prevent your apples from turning brown).
- Slowly add the mint and olive oil mixture into the bowl and gently toss. Add your spinach leaves and orange and grapefruits segments and gently toss. Adjust seasoning with sea salt and fresh ground pepper and arrange the salad on the plates.
- Spoon over some more vinaigrette and serve.
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© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis
42 Responses
What a lovely array of fresh, seasonal ingredients!
You’re right, summertime definitely pushes you to lighter eating. Grilling and fresh salads are what a crave most of the time. Especially grilled fish, gosh, I sould eat that for every meal!
Thanks Peter!
Wow that is a well stacked up beautiful looking salade.
Looks beautiful and yummy and really summery.
Wow, that is some presentation!
That stack could be on any of the fancy restaurants that I visit’s menu and I have no doubt that it would sell out every day!! Wow, Peter, the texture and colors are just so inviting…….
I am fascinated by the bitter delicious apple that you mentioned. Makes me think a little bit about apples in ancient greek mythology…
Che bel piatto colorato…chissà che buono!!
I am interested in that greek apple. What is it like? Makes me think about the apple in Greek mythology.
Looks absolutely stunning
I love how this isn’t your typical bacon-and-egg spinach salad. This is a perfect deviation. It’s beautiful, has great flavor, and looks nothing like what people expect when they hear “spinach salad”.
I think I need to be Canadian. This rainy NY June is for the birds and I wish I could just be content that it’s not snowing!
I love Kardassis’ cooking! However, apples are slightly out of season here in Greece, so perhaps I’ll use nectarines instead. Yum…
Some days when I’m feeling particularly bad or toxic, I feel like a fresh salad– with no sides (except maybe some fresh bread if applicable) will do the trick :) This looks like one of those fantastic pick-me-ups :)
After all the fattening meals I’ve bee eating, your salad is just the antidote. Looks fabulously tasty and light.
What a delicious, light salad! I love that it brings together apples and mint. Your plating is especially nice. I love the stacked arrangement.
What a gorgeous presentation for this delicious salad!
What a flavorful and refreshing salad! I love that combo!
Cheers,
Rosa
wow this sounds so delicious! I love the combination of all the flavors!
That’s not a salad, that’s a work of art.
It must be so refreshing…it´s true, in summer we need less food, and more refreshing. I´ll copy it for sure.
Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful salad made even better with those beautiful ingredients. Fresh and crunchy def come to mind here! I’ve got a bit of reading to do on the Kerasma website!
What a refreshing stack! beautiful presentation.
What an excellent super salad!
For presentation, I give you a Michelin star!
A refreshing and satisfying salad (especially if one were to sprinkle some nuts and server it with cheese and a piece of rustic bread…yum. Thanks for introduction to Kerasama – it’s a beautiful site.
Beautiful & well presented! This is my kind of salad loaded with flavors. Cheers!
It looks so fresh and flavorful. Amazing presentation yet again Peter! The lime and the grapefruit are such a great compliment to the remaining ingredients–the fresh citrus flavor sounds like a great component.
OMG, I want to eat this, not just because the combo is great but also because it looks fantastic – stacked!
i’ve always loved tangy green apple in a salad, especially with little grated cheese
That looks so good I can almost smell it! Lovely alternative to a waldorf salad, which I always find a bit cloying.
A beautifully composed salad Peter for those hot summer days. A little cooler here these days, almost decided on mac & cheese yesterday for some comfort food:D
tis a stairway to heaven, peter! yeah, i said it. it’s a great combination of flavors and gorgeous to behold–exquisite.
Looks great, I have never paired apple and mint before but I can totally see it working. Plus, as always, I have plenty of mint…
This is definitely a keeper!
Super sweet presentation, Peter. Spinach salad certainly gets a makeover here.
Site is looking great!
This looks great, Peter. I decided to re-try mint last night, actually, and this time, I really liked it. Yay!
Once again I’m so glad I’ve let mint run wild in my garden. This is just the time of year when fresh mint really gives everything a summery flavor. Beautiful salad, Peter.
Peter – you’re getting a bit tricky with your presentation! I love the way you’ve stacked that salad and the pictures are great too.
Wow… I love the way that salad looks! Nicely done.
great idea. i will have to wait for fall though. we onlz get imported apples here at the moment.
Love the stacked presentation! Sounds great with the citrus too.
I love the way you plate your salad Peter. Simply beautiful!
This is very elegant and sophisticated Peter- BRAVO!
Peter, this is one of my favorite posts of yours. It looks light and refreshing, perfect for summer.