Wilted Spinach Salad

Another recipe from the Greens cookbook - I think I've found the two recipes that are relatively simple to make. The trick of soaking the onions in water until you use them in the salad later on is a good one - it takes some of the harsh bite of raw onions away and makes them much more palatable. You can see the finished result at the bottom of the plate in the picture above - nice chunks of feta mixed with salty nuggets of olives and wilted spinach with a balancing tartness from the vinegar. I might reduce the amount of oil next time, but this is definitely worth making again.

Wilted Spinach Salad
Adapted from the Greens cookbook

Ingredients

1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
5 tablespoons olive oil
8 to 12 Kalamata olives
450g / 1lb spinach
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon mint leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
200g feta cheese

Method

Cover the onion slices with cold water and refrigerate until needed. 

Press the olives to split them open, take out the stones, and cut the olives in two.

Wash the spinach and spin dry.

When you are ready to make the salad, drain the onions. Put the spinach in a large metal bowl and toss it with the onions, garlic, mint, olives and vinegar. Break up the cheese and crumble it over the spinach. Heat the olive oil until it is very hot but just short of smiking. Immediately pour it over the salad, turning the leaves with a pair of metal tongs so that the hot oil coats and wilts as many leaves as possible. Taste, and season with more vinegar if needed.

The original recipe included croutons, which would be a nice textural contrast - I just didn't have any bread to make croutons this time.