Spinach Cherry Salad with Cherry Vinaigrette

Salad of spinach, pears, dried cherries, toasted (or raw) almonds and goat cheese with a dressing made from cherry juice concentrate

Ingredients:
For Roast Onion and Cherry Dressing:

1 medium yellow onion (about 8 ounces)
¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
¼ cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons cherry juice concentrate
Salt and pepper to taste

For Spinach and Cherry Salad:

1 medium pear
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
8 cups baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
3 tablespoons toasted almond slivers
2 ounces medium-firm goat cheese

Directions:
Prepare dressing: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Peel onion and cut into 8 wedges. Place onion, cut side down, on baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn onion over and bake until brown and caramelized, about 15 minutes longer. Set aside to cool.

Place onion in bowl of a food processor; add lime juice, mustard, and cherry juice concentrate. Puree until smooth and thick. (Add 1 tablespoon of water if mixture is too thick to process). Add the remaining ¼ cup of olive oil in a thin stream. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. There will be about 1 cup of dressing.

Prepare salad: Cut pear in half vertically, and remove core. Cut halves crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices. Stack the slices and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-wide slices, forming thin matchsticks. Toss pear sticks in lime juice in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Add spinach, cherries and almonds to the pear. Add just enough dressing to coat the spinach about ¼ cup; toss well. Divide salad evenly among 6 plates. Crumble the goat cheese and sprinkle over the salads. Serve immediately. Pass extra dressing separately.

Makes 6 servings

Nutrition Info:
Calories 167, Total Fat g 8, Sat Fat g 3, Chol mg 7, Sodium mg 235, Total Carb g 22, Fiber g 3, Sugars g 13, Protein g 4