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Baby Spinach, Fennel and Grapefruit Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
Recipe is from Quick Fix Meals: 200 Simple, Delicious Recipes to Make Mealtime Easy (Taunton, 2007) by Robin Miller
Ingredients
4 cups baby spinach leaves
1 fennel bulb, trimmed of any stalks or fronds and thinly sliced
1 cup grapefruit sections
1/2 cup reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1/4 cup finely minced shallots
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Place the spinach, fennel and grapefruit in a large salad bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together broth, shallots, parsley, oil, vinegar and Dijon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad just before serving. Serves four.
Time-saver Tips: Buy grapefruit already sectioned. It's sold in jars in the refrigerated section of the produce aisle. Also, make the dressing in a container or jar with a lid and, instead of whisking, just seal the container and shake until blended.
Ingredient Note: A native to the Mediterranean region, fennel is a beautiful vegetable that boasts green feathery leaves growing out of a round, white bulb. Greeks have long used fennel stalks and leaves for adding a licorice-like flavoring. The Romans not only added fennel stalks to salads, they used both the stalks and seeds for medicinal purposes. Today, many use fennel as a digestive aid. Low in calories, fennel is also a good source of vitamin C.
Suggestions
Who would have guessed that earthy spinach, licorice-like fennel and tart grapefruit would play so nicely together? The fact is, they love each other's company, especially as they bask in the shallot vinaigrette!