Recipe: Spinach Salad with Steak & Blueberries

Normally, I'm not a salad person. Like at all. I'm pretty picky about what I like to put in salads (hint: tomatoes get a thumbs down). As a general rule, I don't eat salads with: a) nuts of any kind, b) cheese of any kind, or c) meat (unless it's chicken). As you may imagine, this severely limits my salad options. But like I said, I don't really like salad, so it doesn't really bother me.

All of this changed, however, when I had the California Spring Salad at Milestones Restaurant. This salad is magic, and I quite regularly make a copycat recipe at home. This is the salad which taught me that spinach + goat cheese + pecans + any kind of vinaigrette = deliciousness.

I know what you're thinking. Goat cheese? Pecans? I thought you don't eat salad with nuts or cheese, never mind both? This is all very true. But over the years I have given up trying to understand my very finicky tastebuds and have simply learned to embrace whatever they choose to tell me. In this case? That goat cheese and pecans are a match made in heaven.

Anyways, I digress. My mom brought the recipe for this scrumptious salad home from our local grocery store and I knew right away that it had to try it. Did it have goat cheese and pecans in it? No. But that was easily remedied. In fact, the original recipe called for feta and walnuts, both of which I hate, but the substitution was very easily done. I'm sure the original recipe is good too ... you know, if you're into that kind of thing.

Although this salad cost a mint to make (having none of the ingredients on hand except olive oil and salt/pepper, I was forced to make an emergency grocery store run. My recommendation? Make this recipe when blueberries are in season. Holy expensive fruit, Batman!) ...  it was absolutely worth it! Tangy, filling and delicious, it was also ready to eat in 15 minutes flat. Now that's my kind of meal!

The only remotely difficult thing about this recipe is cooking the steak to your desired level of well-doneness. If you can handle that, you're golden. First step? In a food processor or Magic Bullet, combine some blueberries, pecans, minced shallot, sugar, salt and vinegar to form a sort of paste which will be the base of your vinaigrette. When that's done, slowly blend in the olive oil until it's completely mixed in. It should look something like this:

Meanwhile, throw your steak on the grill/frying pan. It's getting to be barbecue season, so I recommend you cook it on the grill. But if Victoria is up to its usual weather antics and you don't want to brave the wet outdoors, then just cook it in a skillet on the stove top.

While the steak is cooking, rip the spinach into bite-size portions and pile on a plate. Top with toasted pecans (either whole or crumbled, your choice), fresh blueberries and crumbled goat cheese. When the steak is done, let it sit for a few minutes before slicing it into bite sliced strips and layering on top of the salad. Drizzle the vinaigrette on top, and devour at will.**

**A note about the vinaigrette: I followed the recipe exactly the first time, but as you can see from the pictures, the dressing still turned out quite thick. It tasted amazing, but for ease of pourage/presentation, I would double the amount of olive oil that it calls for.

Here's the full recipe:

Spinach Salad with Steak and Blueberries


Ingredients;
1 cup fresh blueberries, divided
1/2 cup chopped walnuts/pecans, toasted  (2-4 minutes in a dry skillet)
3 Tbsp fruity vinegar, such as raspberry vinegar
1 Tbsp minced shallot
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt, divided
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 pound sirloin or strip steak (1 - 1 1/4 inches thick), trimmed
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
8 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup crumbled feta/goat cheese

Directions;
1.  Preheat the grill to medium

2.  Pulse 1/4 cup blueberries, 1/4 nuts, vinegar, shallot, sugar and 1/4 tsp salt in a food processor to form a chunky paste. With the motor running, add oil until incorporated. Transfer the dressing to a large bowl.

3. Sprinkle steak with pepper and remaining salt. Grill the steak about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare, 6 minutes per side for medium. Let rest on a clean cutting board for 5 minutes.

4. Add spinach to the bowl with the dressing; toss to coat. Divide the spinach among 4 plates. Thinly slice the steak crosswise. Top the spinach with the steak, cheese, and remaining blueberries and walnuts.

Makes 2 very large portions.