Recipe and photo courtesy of Ty Kotz

Shaved Spinach Salad

• 908 g (2 lbs) baby spinach
• 227 g (1/2 lb) pecorino Romano cheese
• 500 mL (2 cups) pine nuts
• 3 lemons
• 180 mL (3/4 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
• 500 mL (2 cups) dried blueberries

Stack the spinach leaves, cut into thin strips and add to a large bowl. Using a microplane grater, grate the cheese into a bowl and set aside. Heat a large stainless steel or non-stick pan over medium. Add ½ of the pine nuts in a single layer. Cook and stir until pine nuts are golden brown, then place on a paper towel–lined plate. Repeat for the remaining pine nuts. Let the pine nuts cool completely. Juice the lemons and strain, then set juice aside.

In a large stainless steel or wooden bowl, combine the sliced spinach, cheese and pine nuts. Mix with tongs until well combined. Mix the olive oil and lemon juice. Drizzle ½ the dressing on the salad and toss, adding more dressing as desired. Top with the blueberries and gently stir in. Plate and serve immediately. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Kotz offers these tips: “This is an incredible dish for the holidays and guaranteed to create spinach fans all around the table. The key to this dish is preparing the spinach. Use a sharp knife and cut it as thin as possible. It is also very important to grate the cheese using a microplane to give it a soft consistency that melts into the salad as you mix it. Lastly, do not mix the salad ahead of time. Once ingredients are prepped, set them aside and mix right before serving to keep the texture of the spinach intact.”