Spinach Salad with Gorgonzola, Pistachios and Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette

Red pepper jelly. What a weird thing.  Jelly is supposed to be sweet so why do you have this jelly that tastes a bit spicy?!  To make this salad of course!

I needed red pepper jelly for another recipe and for the life of me I cannot figure out which recipe it is.  Anyway I had this stashed in my fridge and so I figured let's give it a go. I was a little skeptical of this salad at first, I wasn't sure how the flavors would come together.  In the end this turned out to be a nice little salad.

To make this substantial enough for my lunch, I added two soft boiled eggs (not pictured).  The only other thing I changed in this recipe was to use blue cheese instead of gorgonzola.  I have issues some times navigating the Wegman's cheese department....But blue cheese and gorgonzola are essentially the same, so I don't think it made a big difference. 

The spiciness of the vinaigrette complements the blue cheese perfectly.  I'm not exactly sure what the pistachios add to this recipe but I enjoyed them nonetheless.  Maybe this salad would be better with a little sweet bite, like dried cherries.  Don't quote me on that though. :)

This salad would be a great compliment to any meal and sounds fancy when serving your guests.

As of today's post 11 people gave this an average rating of 5 out of 5.

Recipe by Laura Zapalowski, Cooking Light, November 2008

• YIELD: 6 servings (serving size: 1 cup spinach mixture and 2 teaspoons nuts)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup red pepper jelly
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 1/4 cup dry-roasted pistachios 

Preparation

1. Place jelly in a 1-cup glass measure. Microwave at HIGH 30 seconds. Add cider vinegar, oil, salt, and black pepper, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cool to room temperature.
2. Combine spinach and cheese in a large bowl. Drizzle vinegar mixture over spinach mixture; toss well. Sprinkle with nuts. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

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• Amount per serving
• Calories: 101
• Calories from fat: 54%
• Fat: 6.1g
• Saturated fat: 1.6g
• Monounsaturated fat: 3g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 1.1g
• Protein: 2.9g
• Carbohydrate: 10.4g
• Fiber: 2.3g
• Cholesterol: 4mg
• Iron: 1.3mg
• Sodium: 187mg
• Calcium: 54mg

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