Spinach and Clementine Salad With Dried Tart Cherries

From www.aicr.com. Clementines can be both expensive and difficult to find as they are only available November through March. Substitute tangerines-honey tangerines being particulatiry good, if you cannot find them. Here is what I found online about the fruit: "Clementines are the tiniest of the mandarins. Imported from Spain, Morocco, and other parts of North Africa, clementines are a cross between a sweet orange and a Chinese mandarin. They are small, very sweet, and usually seedless. Most people think of clementines as small tangerines, but they're a different variety entirely, with a distinctive taste".(SOURCE:www.producepete.com/shows/clementines.html

• Ready In: 20 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• Salad

• 1 1⁄2 lbs clementines, peeled and cut into segments (about 8)
• 2  lbs  baby spinach leaves
• 4  celery ribs, with leaves cut into diagonal slices
• 1⁄2 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 1  cup red onion, sliced thinly
• 1⁄4 cup dried cherries (*tart* cherries, not sweet)

• Salad Dressing

• 2  tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1  pinch raw sugar
• 1  teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1  garlic clove, finely minced
•  salt, to taste
•  cracked black pepper, to taste
• 1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Dry roast the walnuts lightly and set aside to cool.
2. Whisk all the salad ingredients together except for the olive oil. Gradually whisk in the olive oil and incorporate. Best if salad dressing is prepared several hours in advance to allow to marinate.
3. Once dressing has marinated, adjust seasoning if necessary. Whisk again.
4. Wash and drain well the baby spinach leaves.
5. In large salad bowl toss the salad ingredients together. NOTE: Do not add the walnuts to the salad until just before serving.
6. Chill salad until ready to serve.
7. Serve salad dressing on side.