Southwest Spinach Salad (AIP/Paleo)

This Southwest Spinach Salad (AIP/Paleo) combines roasted plantains and raw jicama with traditional flavors of lime and cilantro. So good!

Maybe it’s the warmer weather.  Maybe I’m missing the southwest U.S. where I lived for more than a decade.  Or maybe it’s just because I had some jicama and an old plantain I needed to use up!  🤷🏼‍♀️ Whatever.  In any case, I offer you this delish salad, which can stand by itself as a nutrient-dense meal, or next to your favorite protein.  

Serving suggestions

I’ve tried this with a few different proteins to make this salad into a meal. My favorite so far is to top it with some grilled shrimp. I also like to add some cooked chicken that I almost always keep on hand (see my Falling-off-the-bone Crockpot Chicken recipe) with the leftovers for a quick lunch.

Other spinach salad options

You may also like to try these spinach salads. Get those raw greens into your diet! 😀

• Spinach Cherry Summer Salad
• Apple Fennel Salad
• Beet Carrot Salad w/Orange Ginger Dressing

Special equipment

You won’t need any special kitchen equipment to make this recipe. However, it is super helpful to have a mini food processor. If you’ve been a friend of this blog for a while, you know that I use mine a lot. It is handy for making dressing, dips, etc. Mine is bright yellow because – why should cooking be drudgery? 😁

You can find every ingredient for this salad in your regular grocery store (yay!), AND you can serve this salad to your vegan friends (yay, again!).

Happy spring!

💗,

Wendi

Southwest Spinach Salad (AIP/Paleo)

Recipe by Wendi’s AIP Kitchen – http://www.wendisaipkitchen.com Course: Salads, SidesCuisine: AIP, Paleo, SouthwestDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

This Southwest Spinach Salad (AIP/Paleo) combines roasted plantains and raw jicama with traditional flavors of lime and cilantro. So good!

Ingredients

• 1 fairly ripe plantain, peeled and diced

• 1 T. 1 extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

• 4 C. 4 organic baby spinach, loosely packed

• 1/2 C. 1/2 sliced black olives

• 1/2 C. 1/2 raw jicama, peeled and cut into 1/2” strips

• 1/4 C. 1/4 chopped green onion

• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and diced

• For the dressing:

• Zest of one lime

• 2 T. 2 freshly squeezed lime juice

• 2 T. 2 EVOO

• 2 T. 2 chopped fresh cilantro

• 3/4 t. 3/4 sea salt (or to taste)

• 1 t. 1 honey

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Toss plantains in EVOO.  Transfer to baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes, and let cool.
• Dump the rest of the above ingredients in a large bowl.  Move on to the salad dressing: 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
• Whirl all ingredients in a blender, or small food processor.  Make sure that all of the honey and salt are incorporated.  (They like to glop together on the bottom.)
• Now the plantains should be cool.  Add them to the salad.  Drizzle the dressing over all.  Toss!  Share with people you love – which can/should include yourself… 💗😉💗

Notes

• For jobs like dressings, marinades, sauces, etc., I use this awesome mini food processor. I use it all the time. Mine is yellow. 🙂

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