Add a spinach salad to menu

Spinach may have originated 2,000 years ago in Persia but it is native to central and western Asia. Now widely popular, there are many tasty ways to prepare it. In addition, its health benefits are many, especially if eaten raw, so here are a few recipes for a healthy new year.

MY FAVOURITE SPINACH SALAD
(4 servings)

4 cups fresh, chopped spinach
6-8 halved cherry tomatoes
2 medium, sliced kohlrabi
2 grated hard-boiled eggs

dressing
1/2 tsp minced onion
1 crushed garlic clove
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp paprika
dash dry mustard
dash celery seeds
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp water

1. In a salad bowl, combine spinach, cherry tomatoes, kohlrabi and eggs. Set aside.
2. In a jar, combine dressing ingredients, close and shake well.
3. Dress salad just before serving.

CRUNCHY SPINACH SALAD
(4 servings)

4 cups torn spinach
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1/2 cup sliced and drained water chestnuts
2 chopped hard-boiled eggs

dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 1/2 tbsp ketchup
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1. In a salad bowl, combine spinach, bean sprouts, water chestnuts and eggs.
2. In a bottle or jar, combine dressing ingredients. Cover and shake well to mix.
3. Before serving, pour dressing over salad and toss.

SPINACH SALAD DRESSING
(This salad dressing recipe is from P.J. Clarke’s in New York, which was founded in 1884. The bar was once a saloon owned by Patrick J. Clarke, an Irish immigrant who was hired in the early 1900s and, after about 10 years working there, bought the bar and changed the name. It has had other owners since then and now has multiple locations.)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 large egg yolk or 1 tbsp mayonnaise
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp sugar
1 small chopped garlic clove
1 cup olive oil

1. Blend all ingredients except oil in a food processor until smooth.
2. With motor running, add oil in a stream and blend. Transfer to a jar, cover and keep chilled until serving.

Sybil Kaplan is a journalist, editor of nine kosher cookbooks (working on a 10th) and a food writer living in Jerusalem. She has written the kosher restaurant features for janglo.net since 2014 and leads weekly English-language Shuk Walks in Machane Yehuda.