Spinach and Mushroom Salad

Spinach is one of the vegetables that have an earthy “good for you taste”. Spinach’s claim to fame was as the force giving food of Popeye the Sailor Man. It seems that sometime ago a scientist published a report with a typo that gave spinach 10x its actual level of iron and perpetuated the myth that spinach would make you very strong. However, spinach is good for you - it is packed with vitamins and minerals (A, B9, C, E, magnesium, manganese and iron to name a few). Spinach can be eaten raw, stir fried or quickly steamed. Boiling will destroy some of its nutritional value. Store fresh spinach for a few days only in the refrigerator. Do not reheat cooked spinach.

The dressing for this Spinach salad can also be used as a dip for carrot, celery and cucumber sticks.



Spinach and Mushroom Salad
Serves 4

1 bunch fresh spinach, washed and dried
125 mL (½ cup) mushrooms, sliced
30 mL (2 Tbsp) Roquefort cheese
60 mL (¼ cup) sour cream or crème fraîche
15 mL (1 Tbsp) freshly squeezed lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, mash together Roquefort and sour cream; stir in lemon juice.
Remove any large stalks from spinach and tear into bite-size pieces. Place spinach, mushrooms and salad dressing in a large salad bowl; toss to coat well and season with black pepper.

Substitutions:
Another blue cheese such as Gorgonzola can be used in place of the Roquefort.
Silver beet (chard) can be used instead of spinach.