Spinach Salad with Red Grapefruit, Fennel & Cilantro

A Few Thoughts on Spinach Salad and Vitamin C

I hope you've had a chance to look out your office window lately. It looks like spring is officially here, and winter has finally packed its bags.

That little stretch between winter and spring is my favorite time of year. The markets and grocery store shelves are full of incredible vegetables at their seasonal peak—and their most delicious.

During this all-too-short season, I'm especially drawn to leafy greens: Swiss chard, arugula, cabbage, parsley, cilantro, Turkish and New Zealand spinach, celery leaves, garden cress, basil, and on and on.

Meanwhile, we're also right in the middle of glorious citrus season.

Honestly, is there anything better than a red grapefruit? What a fruit. Gorgeous on the inside, gorgeous on the outside.

I love pairing fresh, crisp greens with tart citrus like red grapefruit. It's colorful, festive, and makes you want to dig right in. But there's a nutritional reason for the combination, too:

Spinach provides a good amount of iron. Pairing it with vitamin C helps your body absorb that iron more efficiently—and citrus, as you probably know, has plenty of vitamin C.

This salad has an Asian-inspired twist, thanks to the cilantro, hot red chile, and peanut butter–soy dressing. Think Bangkok meets Tel Aviv (Israel's coastal city).

If that's not your thing, no problem. Swap the cilantro for parsley and dress the salad with plenty of garlic, lemon, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

I especially love serving this salad at Friday-night dinners and holiday meals, both for its fantastic colors and for its nutritional profile, analyzed by Noam Bachar (an Israeli nutritionist and fitness instructor):

So, what's in a serving?

Nutrition per serving:

Salad alone: 140 calories, 8 g carbohydrates, 6.5 g protein, 8 g fat (including 0.5 g saturated fat), 6.5 g fiber, 150 mg calcium, 3 mg iron.

Dressing per serving:

170 calories, 7 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 12 g fat (including 2 g saturated fat), 2.5 g omega-3 fatty acids.

Got more spinach than you know what to do with? I've got just the recipe for you – baked tofu with spinach and basil

Spinach Salad with Red Grapefruit, Fennel, and Cilantro

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Yield 2 servings

Ingredients

For the Salad

• 150 g (5.3 oz) New Zealand spinach Turkish or regular spinach also works
• 1/2 red grapefruit segmented, with membranes removed
• 1 fennel bulb thinly sliced
• 20 almonds coarsely chopped
• 1 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
• 1/2 hot chile pepper sliced—if you like some heat

For the Dressing

• 2 teaspoons peanut butter unsweetened
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil coconut or canola oil works
• 1 garlic clove, crushed

Instructions

1. Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Mix the dressing ingredients thoroughly, adding 1 tablespoon of water to thin.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss well, and serve.