Asian Spinach Salad
Add cooked chicken, turkey, pork or ham to this colorful salad and you've got a complete meal!
Recipe Ingredients:
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 medium jalapeño pepper, finely chopped (2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon grated gingerroot
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
!/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 ounces dried rice noodles or rice sticks
4 cups torn fresh spinach
3/4 cup dried tart cherries
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves (or other fresh herbs)
2 medium carrots, shredded
1 medium cucumber, seeded and cut into 1 1/2-inch slivers
1/3 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts
Cooking Directions:
- For the dressing, stir together orange juice, vinegar, jalapeño pepper, gingerroot, garlic, orange peel and black pepper. Set aside.
- Cook rice noodles or rice sticks in a large pot of boiling water for 2 to 6 minutes or until tender. Drain. Immediately rinse with cold water. Drain. Fluff with a fork. Use kitchen scissors to cut up. Rinse again with cold water. Drain and fluff with a fork.
- Toss together drained noodles, spinach, dried cherries, mint, carrots and cucumber. Drizzle with dressing. Toss to coat all ingredients with dressing. Sprinkle with peanuts. Serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings.
Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/4 of recipe): 286 calories, 6.5 g total fat (1 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 42 mg sodium, 52 grams carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 7 g protein. Dietary Exchanges: 2 starch, 1-1/2 fruit, 1 fat.
Recipe and photograph provided courtesy of the Cherry Marketing Institute.