Spinach Caesar Salad and Caesar Salad

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(click on image to enlarge)

Serves 2

This is a recipe for a spinach caesar salad (make a more traditional caesar by substituting 1 large head of lettuce for the spinach). Recipe by Rhio in her book Hooked on Raw.

Ingredients

  • 1 large bunch spinach
  • ½ cup pumpkin seeds, ground
  • 1 -2 garlic cloves, pressed
  • ½ lemon, juiced
  • ½ teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 sprinkle freshly ground white pepper
  • 1 dash Celtic sea salt

Preparation

  1. Rinse the spinach very well under running water, one leaf at a time. Make sure there is no soil or sand in the bottom part near the roots. Sand in your salad is not tasty! Once clean, spin the spinach leaves dry in a salad spinner and put into a large bowl. Tear or cut leaves into bite-size pieces.
  2. Grind the pumpkin seeds. I like to use a kitchen utensil called a Salad- Shooter¨, or you can use a coffee or nut grinder. Add the ground seeds to the spinach and toss well. (The pumpkin seeds are a substitute for the Parmesan cheese used in conventional Caesar salad recipes).
  3. In a small bowl, blend 1 or 2 pressed cloves of garlic, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, olive oil, a sprinkle of white pepper and Celtic sea salt. Pour over the spinach and toss well.

Best eaten when freshly made.

Comments

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ray writes: (January 24, 2007)

Yum. We had this for lunch. Tasted a lot like a real Caesar Salad, surprisingly!

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kandace writes: (January 25, 2007)

I wanted to make a batch of this that I could have for meals over a couple days. I made a container of the spinach/pumpkin mix and a container of the dressing. When I wanted some salad, I tossed a some together. Worked really well and got around the problem of the dressing wilting the spinach, which probably would have happened if I put the fully made salad in the refrigerator over night.

Also, this salad just begs to be served with a lemon wedge. It looks lovely and the extra dose of lemon add quite a bit to the taste.

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hleva writes: (February 07, 2007)

I made this for lunch today and really enjoyed it, especially the lemony dressing. I have enough dressing leftover for lunch tomorrow.

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rawozzy writes: (February 14, 2007)

I just tried the salad, but I didn’t have any pumpkin seeds, so I used almond. It was quite good.

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Carmel writes: (March 01, 2007)

I found this site while on a three week juice and water fast and looking at all the wonderful recipes and photos so nicely presented sure made me hungry. I could hardly wait to make this recipe. My first evening meal was a yummy bowl of red Gazpacho followed by this lovely green salad. It was dee-licious! I have had it a few times and it’s wonderfully easy. The spinach made me want to add paper thin slices of white mushroom and red onion which I did and it’s quite addictive that way too. My carnivore husband loved it and requested it the next night too! I’m really happy to have found a substitute for caesar, a nice, light and tasty green salad and a way to incorporate more spinach in my diet. Thanks Kandace!

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sunrise writes: (April 11, 2007)

I loved this! I just ate it for lunch and wish I had brought more.

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Nerdmagnet writes: (June 21, 2007)

My daughter and I had this for lunch today. We didn’t have pumpkin seeds…we only had Brazil nuts…but it was really good!

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KurdishMom0607 writes: (July 15, 2007)

Is there a recipe here for the dijon mustard?? I really liked it when I was in the US but finding one that didn’t have the wine vinegar was difficult then, and just finding the mustard is impossible now.. I’d like to make my own but I don’t remember what was ever in it.. Anyone know of a good raw mustard recipe? I’m a big, big spinach fan and this looks like a salad that I would never get tired of…

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kandace writes: (November 15, 2007)

There is one raw mustard recipe here on the site. I haven’t tried it yet, though.

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TimH writes: (November 19, 2007)

I love this recipe. I make it three to four times a week for lunch at work. I keep the dressing and salad separate until ready to eat. Sometimes I add a little minced jalapeno to the dressing for a kick.

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lexilee writes: (February 23, 2008)

made this for a raw food lunch and everyone LUVED it!

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SarahJ writes: (February 26, 2008)

Oh so good – great idea about the ground pumpkin seeds – I will definitely use that in other recipes as well. Thanks very much.

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Luna blu writes: (March 08, 2008)

I made it without the dijon, and did not miss it!! Very good, I love garlic!!!

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Diana writes: (March 10, 2008)

Mjummy, it makes really a filling salad. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!

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RawModel writes: (March 15, 2008)

I was soooo craving caesar salad the other day; it’s one of my favorite things to eat. I can’t wait to try this, I have a feeling it will be a regular throughout my week.

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gitana writes: (March 22, 2008)

I have been craving a caesar salad and I happened to have some lovely spinach! I made this with a little braggs. I also used some Rawmesan instead of pumpkin seeds. Thank you so much for posting this delight!

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frangipanni writes: (August 12, 2008)

I have made this a couple of times now, The first time i made the dressing quite stiff and did not chop the pumpkin seeds up finely and it was yummy. I then used it to stuff mushrooms and celery and lettuce, I used it on wraps and on bread. Then next time i added more water (instead of oil) and it was runny and it was yummy over a mixed spinach and cos salad. It is a delicious dressing. I cut back on the oil to 1 tbsp and used only one clove of garlic. It is my favourite treat. Thanks

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