Fresh Spinach Salad with Fresh Sliced Mangos and Asian Sesame  Ginger Dressing

 

 

I love spinach any which way however I especially like it when presented as a tasty salad.  When the fresh mangos are out in their best form, that’s when I usually think of my combo spinach mango delight.  Topping it with this Asian sesame ginger dressing makes this salad just about perfect—or at least I think so.  Here’s the recipe to share and hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients:

Plenty of good fresh spinach—well washed and rinsed and leaves left whole

One or more (depending how much spinach you’ve dished into your salad bowl) fresh, tasty mangos sliced long ways

Pine nuts to sprinkle on last

Asian Sesame Ginger Dressing Ingredients-(makes about 1 C and stores in frig for up to 3 weeks)

1/2 C. rice wine vinegar

1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. honey

1/2 tsp. freshly grated ginger

2 Tsp. toasted sesame seeds

1/2 Tsp. sesame oil

2/3 C. Olive Oil or Canola Oil or a mixture of both

Directions:

Because I like to enjoy my guests when they arrive, I try to organize my entertainment meals in a way that will make my job as effortlessly as possible.  Doing this entails the cook to plan and to think ahead.  So, this is what I do with this simple, but delicious salad.   An hour or two before your guests arrive:

1. Place dressing ingredients in a lidded jar and shake well. Put in frig..

2.   Wash the spinach in the spinner and store spinner/spinach in the frig.

3.   Peel and slice mangos. Place on a dish and cover with saran rap. Store in frig.

4.   Keep salad bowl, serving implements out on counter top with pine nuts near by.

So now, that you have your salad all ready to go, you can also start organizing the rest of your meal.  I am always doing dishes as I go so that when my guests arrive, the kitchen is relatively neat and clean. I always make sure that my dishwasher is EMPTY. That makes cleanup after the guests leave a breeze.  Because I am such a neat-nick, I guess that I would not do well in a busy restaurant kitchen—however, having been an innkeeper for 5 years, this method worked very well for me.  So, just a couple of hints from the TempInnKeeper Margot.  Hope they can work for you as well.