warm spinach salad

this is a remix of the spinach and pine nuts from our trout meal the other night.  we couldn't get enough of that stuff!  but what about making it more of a meal on it's own?  it was about half way through preparing the spinach that i realized i basically had all the ingredients for a traditional spinach salad, only it was hot instead of cold.  and i loved it.  :)


Warm Spinach Salad
prep time: 10 mins  cook time: 15mins
serves 2-4

2ish tbsp olive oil
1 jumbo package baby spinach leaves (about 650g)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small package button mushrooms, sliced
1-2 cups cooked chick peas, or 1 can drained & rinsed well
1-2 cups cooked rice (optional - husband went for it, i abstained)
1/2 cup grated old cheddar cheese
1-2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
sprinkling of sunflower seeds or whatever nut you are nuts about

heat a bit of olive oil in a large skillet.  add 1/2 the minced garlic.  saute 1/2 the baby spinach until it's wilted but still bright green.  transfer to a bowl and repeat with the rest of the garlic and spinach.

next, adding more oil as needed, saute the mushrooms until cooked through, then transfer them to the spinach bowl.  then add a bit more oil and cook the chickpeas until heated through.  add the spinach and mushrooms, sprinkle with sunflower seeds or nuts, and cook until warmed.

here was where i wondered... if this really is a salad, what's the dressing?  should i add a splash of balsamic vinegar, or something sweet?  i opted not to, assuming the garlic would add enough flavour, which it did.  but if you try this and do add some sort of dressing, please let me know what you tried and how it turned out!

serve over rice (if you want a more filling meal), top with grated cheese and sliced egg.  enjoy!


what a healthy little lunch!  definitely high in protein and calcium, not to mention a good dose of vitamins.  i quite prefer it to cold spinach salads, especially during the winter!