I created this salad on Valentine’s Day as a light start to a really hearty meal of a rustic pasta dish, crusty bread and a rich dessert.
Also, it has one really interesting component: balsamic onions. I have read (and have found it to be true) that if you soak fresh cut onions in water for a few minutes, that it takes some of the pungency out of them.
I took it a step further and soaked the onions a bit longer before soaking them in balsamic vinegar. It makes a nice accent to the salad with lots of flavor and no fat. Plus, you use the vinegar for a dressing.
What you need:
(serves two)
1/4 c Vidalia onion, very thinly sliced and cut into 1/2 - 1 inch pieces discarding the core and outer layer
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
2 c raw baby spinach
1/4 c blueberries
1/4 c alfalfa sprouts
2 TB crumbled feta
1/8 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp agave nectar
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
What you do:
In a shallow bowl with a wide base, soak the onions in the balsamic vinegar for 15 minutes.
While the onions are soaking, put the rest of the salad together, dividing evenly between two bowls or plates the spinach, blueberries, sprouts, cheese and sesame seeds.
After 15 minutes, remove the onions from vinegar and put the onions on top of the salads.
Add the garlic paste, agave nectar, salt and pepper to the bowl with the balsamic vinegar and mix well either with a whisk or a fork.
Pour the dressing over the salads. If you do not like a lot of dressing on your salad, you can save some of the vinegar mixture for a future salad.
This dressing is low fat with no oil but does contain lots of flavor.
