Recipe: Feta Spinach Salad with Greek Yogurt Honey Ranch Dressing

When I was a kid, salad used to be chopped iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. I think there was more of a variety of bottled dressings then there were salads.

Don't misunderstand me, sometimes a big hunk of iceberg lettuce with blue cheese dressing is satisfying. Many very expensive restaurants pride themselves on their signature wedge salads and charge high prices for them.

But salads can be economical and good. Here are some salad tips as well as one of my favorite recipes:

Salad bases: To get the most nutrition out of your salad bowl, think dark leafy greens. Spinach, arugula, watercress, field greens, and red leaf lettuce are excellent foundations. Try to combine different textures for a better mouth feel.

Pick a protein: Try adding hard-boiled eggs, cubes of tofu or tempeh sauteed lightly in olive oil. Try baking or grilling them as well. Cheese, beans, veggies burgers, soy sausage or seitan products are great served warm over chilled salad greens.

Make a dressing: Skip the salad dressing aisle in the supermarket and make your own. It can be as simple as wonderful extra-virgin olive oil and a good-quality balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. Use sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup or fruit juice to tame the acidity. Use 2 to 3 parts oil to 1 part acid and you have a simple recipe for a vinaigrette.

Feta Spinach Salad with Greek Yogurt Honey Ranch Dressing

Makes 4 servings

Greek Yogurt Honey Dressing:

1/4 cup fat-free or 2 percent Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 cup buttermilk or 2 percent milk

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

Spinach Salad:

6 cups spinach leaves, well washed and dried

2 ripe nectarines, halved, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

To make dressing: Whisk all ingredients well in a nonreactive small mixing bowl. Chill 30 minutes.

To make salad: Place spinach in a large serving bowl. Sprinkle nectarines, feta and walnuts over salad. Add dressing, toss and serve.

(c) 2009, Sun Sentinel.