Cranberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing

Cranberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing

Cook's notes: I really liked the versatility of this salad which paired well with the Mexican Chicken Chili recipe posted Jan 16th. The recipe was adapted from cookingclassy

http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2015/01/crock-pot-slow-cooker-chicken-chili.html
The citrus dressing was tangy and sweet complimenting the rest of the salad ingredients.  The dressing really elevated the salad to star status. 
Two other options for this salad include adding grilled chicken for a main entree or serve the salad as a side for Balsamic Glazed Salmon (recipe below).
Ingredients
Dressing

• ½ cup Blood Orange Olive Oil
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 TB. fresh lemon juice
• 2 TB. honey
• 2 TB.Cranberry Pear Balsamic or white balsamic
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard 
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. poppy seeds

Salad

• mixture of baby spinach and romaine
• 2 medium avocados, skinned, cored and diced
• 3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted or honey roasted almonds
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 4 clementines peeled and segmented 
• 3/4 cup pomegranate arils/seeds (pom poms)

Directions

• Add olive oil, orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice, honey, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar and salt to a blender. Pulse until well emulsified. Pour into a jar and stir in poppy seeds. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Add all salad ingredients to a large bowl. Pour dressing over top and toss to evenly coat. Serve immediately.

Balsamic Glazed Salmon
recipe adapted from cooking classy
Balsamic Rosemary Glaze Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar or Fig Balsamic
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 TB. honey
• 1 TB. Dijon mustard 
• 1 TB.chopped fresh rosemary, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 4 (6 oz.) salmon fillets
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp. canola oil, divided

Directions:

• Allow salmon to rest 10 minutes at room temperature. 
• In a medium saucepan combine balsamic vinegar, white wine, honey, Dijon mustard, 1/2 TB. of the chopped rosemary and the garlic. Heat mixture over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer over medium-low heat until sauce has thickened and reduced to 1/3 cup, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
• Remove from heat and set aside. 
• Season both sides of salmon with salt and pepper. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tsp of canola oil. Once pan and oil are hot, add 2 salmon fillets and cook, without moving, until salmon has nicely browned on bottom, about 3 - 5 minutes. Carefully flip salmon to opposite side and continue to cook 3 - 5 minutes longer until bottom is browned and salmon has cooked through. Set aside in warmed oven and cook other fillets. 
• Drizzle each fillet with balsamic rosemary glaze and sprinkling tops with remaining 1/2 TB. rosemary.