Saturday, December 18, 2010

A Christmas Salad.....With a Yummy Christmas Dip....


With all the sweets, cookies, pastries, breads, chocolate of Christmas, a salad is needed!!


However, we need a Christmas salad....something tasty, healthy, but with Christmas colours.....


When we arrived to North America, salads were the food that impressed me the most. We were used too simple salads (no more than three ingredients!), but here salads can be a meal itself!.....full of greens, grains, proteins....even fruit!!


This is one of the salads that I always find in  restaurants in the North West.....this time I have arranged it in a Christmas design......ENJOY!!

Spinach, Pears, Walnuts and Cheese Salad (I will list the ingredients, the quantities will be at your desire)

Baby spinach
Pear
Walnuts
Cheese (I have used goat cheese, but with Roquefort cheese is yummy as well)
Cranberries or Raspberries (I used dry cranberries)

Dressing
Olive oil
Honey
Mustard
Salt
Pepper
Balsamic Vinegar (you can use balsamic vinegar flavoured like raspberries)

Wash the baby spinach and dry them. Wash the pear, and sliced it. Place the baby spinach, the sliced pear, chopped walnuts and cranberries, and chunks of goat cheese. Put the dressing on top....Enjoy!!

 

And Do you think that Christmas can be fun without cheese cream??....No!!

Here you have a tasty dip for appetizer......

Three colours dip

200 grams of baby spinach
7 sun-dried tomatoes
Walnuts
Garlic
1 package of cream cheese 250 grams (like Philadelphia cheese) at room temperature.
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Olive oil
3 teaspoons of gelatine (you can use more or less depending how hard you want it)


Wash the baby spinach, and cook it with olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic. Reserve.

Mix the 3 teaspoons of gelatine with 1/2 cup of cold water. Once it is hydrated, cook it until transparent. Mix it with the cheese, and beat it strongly. Divide it in three bowls.


Blend the spinach, and mix it with one portion of cream cheese and gelatine. Correct for salt and pepper.
Blend the sun-dried tomatoes with one portion of cream cheese and gelatine. Correct for salt and pepper.
Chop the walnuts, and mix it with one portion of cream cheese and gelatine. Correct for salt and pepper.



Grease a ramekin with olive oil. Place 1/3 with the spinach mix, then the walnut mix, then the sun-dried tomatoes mix.

Leave it in a refrigerator until set. Pass a knife around it, and inmerse in hot water (outside only) to unfold it. Serve with crackers.....Enjoy!!



I have made this three-layers dip with basil pesto instead of spinach......it is very good!!

3 comments:

  1. I love pear, cheese and walnut combo in a salad and yours look so Christmas-y.
    Love the dip too, so delicious.
    Thanks for sharing.
    Hope you'll have a wonderful week

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maravillosa receta, igual que la persona que está detras de ella.
    FELIZ NAVIDAD a ti y a todos los tuyos
    Un beso enorme
    http://desdelacuinadelhort.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Marcela, no había visto este post. Menuda ensalada más buena has preparado. Desde luego con tanta fiesta no vendrá nada mal para desengrasar.
    Te deseo que pases unas Felices Fiestas junto a los tuyos y que el próximo año te traiga lo mejor.
    Un besazo muy fuerte.

    ReplyDelete