Woohoo, it is going to get really hot this weekend! When the temperature hits 3 digits it’s time to get out of the kitchen as fast as you can. Time for al fresco dining-cool, refreshing salads, sweet and juicy summer fruits along with an array of cheeses. A pitcher of thirst quenching Sangria…just maybe we can get through this heatwave.  I found a tasty and eye-catching salad from Over Easy by Joy the Baker (latest book and amazing blog) that I love. It’s my salad of the season, specifically, blueberry season, Blueberry Avocado Spinach Salad. The list of star-studded ingredients includes toasted hazelnuts, blueberries, avocados, and cucumbers. Dressed with a sweet, slightly tart dressing, it reminds me of the classic Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing from back in the day, it’s dee-licious.

I have gone crazy with this salad with additional yummies like pancetta “cracklins” or crispy bacon bits, thinly sliced red onions for some bite, or sliced hard-boiled eggs for protein, YUM.  The toasted hazelnuts have no substitute, their crunch and flavor are hard to beat in this salad and they go so well with blueberries, like Fred and Ginger.

The dressing is easy and quick.  Start with a squeeze of lemon juice, a dollop of dijon mustard, glop of honey and whisk in some EVOO.  Alternative easy method: throw it all in a bottle and shake, shake shake. Season with salt and pepper to taste and that’s it.  You don’t need no stinkin’ supermarket bottle stuff, nope.

This is a lovely salad, I hope you will try it. Share it with friends and family.

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Blueberry Avocado Spinach Salad

Perfect during blueberry season, a spinach salad with avocado, slices of hard-boiled egg and hazelnuts all of which compliments blueberries dressed with honey mustard dressing.

Course dinner, first course, lunch, Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword avocado, blueberry, Caesar Salad, hazelnuts, honey mustard dressing, spinach

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Ingredients

The Dressing

• 2 tbsp Honey
• 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• ¼ tsp. sea salt
• ¼ tsp. black pepper
• 4 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup olive oil

The Fixings

• 6 cups Baby spinach (generous cups) washed, rinsed and dried
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 cup English or Persian cucumber thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts coarsely chopped
• 1 ripe avocado thinly sliced
• 1-2 hard-boiled eggs sliced

Instructions

• Whisk together honey, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk in lemon juice. Add olive oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly, until mixture is emulsified and thick. Taste, and season with additional salt and pepper as desired.
• Toss together spinach, blueberries, cucumber and 1/2 of the hazelnuts in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over the salad, and toss to combine. Sprinkle with remaining hazelnuts. Top with avocado.

Notes

Optional adds:

2 hard boiled eggs, sliced, Bacon or pancetta bits fried crisp, as little or as much as you like,

1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced, or

2 green onions, sliced