Spinach Salad with Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette

In my last post I told you about my African friends who claim that in winter it's just too cold for salads.  Well, it's almost summer and it's definitely time for salads.  With the upcoming week high temps all in the upper 90s I'm looking forward to cold salads, cheeses, fruit and chilled drinks (see my posts on Mango Coolers and Margaritas for a couple of ideas on cold drinks).

One of my favorite salad dressings is a roasted shallot vinaigrette.  I often make a double batch because it's a little more effort than most but so worth it.  How could one go wrong with roasted shallots, garlic and balsamic?  It goes well on almost any salad, but one of best pairings is with a strong green leaf (spinach, arugula, etc.), fruit (berries) and gouda.

Spinach Salad with Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette

Ingredients

Version 1:

• 2 cups spinach
• 1/4 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/8 cup chopped goat gouda
• 2 Tablespoons roasted shallot vinaigrette

Version 2:

• 2 cups spinach
• 1/4 cup sliced fresh strawberries
• 1/4 cup toasted pecans (could use spiced pecans)
• 1/8 cup chopped smoked gouda
• 2 Tablespoons roasted shallot vinaigrette

Toss spinach and berries together with the vinaigrette.  Place on serving dish and sprinkle nuts and cheese on top and serve.

Vinaigrette:

The vinaigrette recipe comes from a Bon Appetit magazine circa 1996.  It's by far our favorite salad dressing. Friends say it goes extremely well on baked potatoes, too!

• 1 cup shallots, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place shallots and garlic in a small glass baking dish.  Add 1/2 cup oil and toss to coat.  Cover with foil and bake until shallots and garlic are tender and golden, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes. Cool.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer shallots and garlic to a food processor; reserve oil in baking dish.  Puree shallots and garlic until smooth.  In a 8" or 10" heavy skillet add remaining 1/4 cup oil and puree.  Stir over medium heat until liquid evaporates and mixture is brown, about 5-6 minutes.  Cool slightly and return mixture to food processor.  Add vinegar, soy sauce, mustard, and oil reserved from baking dish and process until well blended.  Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Store in refrigerator.  It becomes quite thick, so I either add a little water to the recipe to thin it or make sure to take it out well ahead of time so the oil has time to warm up.