Time to try another recipe from Yotam Ottalenghi’s Jerusalem.  I thinned the spinach in my garden so I ended up with some nice baby spinach leaves.  When I combined them with spinach Arielle picked at Farmer Kim’s I had enough for a good salad!

There are many stars in this salad, but I have to say the spiced almonds and pita chips were amazing!

Add to that the marinated dates (instead of medjool dates, I used some wonderful dried dates my husband brought back from Iran last year) and you have heaven in a salad.

As I was making the salad, I realized that I did not have all the right ingredients, so I had to adapt.  Although my salad was delicious, I think his original ingredients would work just a bit better, so I have used his in the recipe below and noted what I used differently.

Spinach Salad with Dates and Almonds

from Yotam Ottalenghi’s Jerusalem

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced (I used white)

3 1/2 oz Medjool dates, quartered lengthwise (I used dried Iranian dates)

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 small pitas, about 3 1/2 oz, torn into 1 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup whole unsalted almonds, coarsely choppped

2 tsp sumac (this was the super-super ingredient!)

1/2 tsp chile flakes

5 oz baby spinach leaves (I used a mix of baby and regular leaves)

2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Salt

Directions

Put the vinegar, onions and dates in a small bowl.  Add a pinch of salt and mix well with your hands.  Leave to marinate for 20 minutes, then drain any residual vinegar and discard.

Meanwhile, heat the butter and half the olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat.  Add the pita and almonds and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring all the time, until the pita is crunchy and golden brown (it may take a little longer if you have very fresh pita).  Remove from heat and mix in the sumac, chile flakes and 1/4 tsp salt.  Set aside to cool.

When you are ready to serve, toss the spinach leaves with the pita mix in a large bowl.  Add the dates and onion, the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, and another pinch of salt.  Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.  Enjoy!

Serves 4.

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