Spinach and Orange Salad with Parmesan Pecans - Judy Shertzer, The Good Gourmet Cooking School Manager

This light and tasty dish was the salad course at our "Cooking for the Cure" dinner party to benefit the Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  Judy Schertzer used beautiful blood oranges which lent excellent color as well as flavor to the salad.

Ingredients:

2 cups pecan halves
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted 
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
P2 tbsp shallots, minced
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 medium navel or blood oranges
1 lb. baby spinach
1 cup Sicilian green olives, pitted and chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Toast pecans on a baking sheet for about 5 minutes.  Transfer nuts to a bowl and toss with butter, honey, parmesan cheese and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.  Return them to the baking sheet and oven or 4 more minutes until golden brown.  Let cool.

In a small bowl whisk lemon juice with the shallots and mustard.  Whisk in the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

With a knife, peel the oranges removing all the white pith.  Section the oranges into a bowl and drain.

In a large bowl toss the spinach with the dressing, olives, pecans and orange sections and serve immediately.  Serves 8.