Every summer as a child my family spent a week on Martha’s Vineyard. One evening we always dressed up for a “fancy” dinner at a restaurant called the Ocean View — which, ironically, had no ocean view. Still, it felt special.
My mother would order lobster and my father a steak; they’d each have a glass of wine, something uncommon for them. The part I loved most was the enormous, glittering salad bar beside the huge fish tank. It had hot rolls with pats of butter at one end and croutons, chopped bacon, oyster crackers and every topping imaginable at the other. I would pile plate after plate and drown everything in their creamy poppy seed dressing.
Recently I found myself craving that dressing but didn’t want anything overly heavy or gloopy. I happened to have an oversized container of poppy seeds leftover from a previous recipe project, so I started experimenting. After a couple of tries I arrived at this bright, lemony, slightly sweet poppy seed dressing, balanced with just enough creaminess from vegan mayonnaise.
I tossed it with a simple spinach salad—strawberries, avocado and toasted almonds—and loved it so much I’ve made it several times in the past few days. The dressing keeps for a few days in the fridge and works well on many salads, so feel free to adapt the greens and toppings to your preference.
Spinach Salad with Lemon Maple Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
For the salad
-
1
package baby spinach
5-ounce -
1/2
avocado
peeled, pitted and chopped -
4-5
large strawberries
hulled and sliced -
1/4
cup
almonds
toasted and chopped
For the dressing
-
6
tablespoons
extra virgin olive oil -
2
tablespoons
vegan mayonnaise -
2
tablespoons
freshly squeezed lemon juice -
1
tablespoon
maple syrup -
1
tablespoon
minced shallot -
2
teaspoons
poppy seeds -
1/2
teaspoon
salt -
1/4
teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
-
To make the salad: combine all the salad ingredients in a large serving bowl.
-
To make the dressing: combine all dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste.
-
Drizzle the dressing over the salad, toss gently, and serve immediately.
