WARM SPINACH SALAD W/ CARAMELIZED ONION, MUSHROOM, FETA AND NUTS

Warm Spinach Salad W/ Caramelized Onion, Mushroom, Feta and Nuts image

An incredible salad. Cook so the spinach just gets warm and coated with the carmalized onion dressing! It smelled and tasted so good, I'm going to have to wait until next time to snap a picture of it. I usually serve this salad with some sort of white fish and other veggie as a main course. It may seem like a lot of butter, but it's what makes up the dressing and is necessary. I used "I can't believe it's not Butter" to cut the saturated fat in half that real butter would give and it came out great! The idea for this salad came out of a vegetables book in the grocery store and was a real winner!

Provided by Ian Magary

Categories Spinach

Time 45m

Yield 1 salad, 2-3 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 7

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Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter or 4 tablespoons I Can't Believe It's Not Butter® Spread
1 large sweet onions (sliced into thick bite sized pieces) or 2 medium yellow onions (sliced into thick bite sized pieces)
8 -10 large mixed mushrooms (cut in half)
1/2-1 teaspoon anchovy paste (a squirt from the tube about 3/4 inch to 1 inch long)
1 (4 ounce) package feta cheese (crumbled)
1/4-1/2 cup almonds or 1/4-1/2 cup pecans
1 (9 ounce) bag fresh spinach leaves or 5 -6 cups fresh spinach leaves

Steps:

Melt the butter in a deep frying pan or pot that will eventually be able to handle all the spinach being tossed around in it.
Toss in the onions and mushrooms and turn down the heat to medium low / low medium. Allow onions and mushrooms to caramelize for approx 30 minutes until onions are soft, transparent and golden stirring occasionally. This is a prime time to get the main course a cookin! These onions can be made well in advance and then reheated for just the moment you want to serve the salad. If the onions start to dry out with the amount of butter used add a little more. 4 Tbsp Butter worked out for me at the heat I caramelized the onions on.
Stir in the squirt of anchovy paste (optional), pine nuts (or nut of choice) and the crumbled feta a little sea salt and black pepper for taste with the caramelized onions and mushrooms. Once these are somewhat warm and melted, carefully fold in the spinach leaves until they're all coated, making sure not to cook too long. We don't want them soggy or wilted, just coated and warm. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts : Calories 539.7, Fat 48.1, SaturatedFat 24.6, Cholesterol 116.3, Sodium 1052.2, Carbohydrate 16.3, Fiber 4.7, Sugar 6.8, Protein 16.2