spinach salad ala ny times

Directions

1. You finely slice two lemons (rind and all) and marinate them overnight in two tablespoons of sugar and a few pinches of salt (it’s essentially a quick preserved lemon). I recommend sharpening your knife before starting this task. Makes those paper thin slices much easier to do. Just before you’re ready to serve the salad, you dump the lemon and juice out onto a foil-lined cookie sheet and broil it until the liquid gets syrupy and edges of the lemon start to brown. You heap the broiled lemon mess on top of a bowl of hearty spinach, drizzle with olive oil and toss to combine. A little freshly cracked pepper and a bit of honey (if the balance of sweet to tart is out of balance) finish things off.One thing to note is that this salad requires mature spinach leaves because the heat of broiled lemons cause the greens to wilt pretty quickly. Baby spinach leaves dissolve into mush far too quickly. I realize it might sound a bit intense, but the resulting salad tastes verdant, bitter, sweet and tart all at the same time. It’s a highly appealing combination that always sends people running to the bowl for seconds