Curried Chickpea Spinach Salad with Almonds & Apricot

You will be craving this from now on, mark my words.

This curry vinaigrette has just the right amount of sweetness, acidity and creamy depth to round out the salad, but it’s the crunchy roasted chickpeas combined with the chewy sweet apricots that really take it to the next level. When you take a bite, I swear you’ll experience a moment of pure food bliss.

It’s that good.

Spinach is a nutritional over achiever. It offers twice as much fiber as other greens, and it’s packed with disease-fighting antioxidants, potassium, and important phytochemicals that are very helpful in regulating your blood sugar and giving your skin a gorgeous glow. Plus, it only calls for a handful of basic ingredients (the one mildly obscure requirement is mango chutney, which I recommend picking up given its versatility and trendiness) and about 15 minutes of hands on preparation. Last but not least, the salad is very pretty and can be served six ways to Sunday. You can eat it on its own, but it’s also great tossed with quinoa and/or goat feta, or served alongside your favorite grilled fish.

 It’s all too easy to ask for a second helping.

Curried Chickpea Spinach Salad with Almonds & Apricot

For the Salad:
6 cups spinach
1/3 cup sliced red onion
3/4 cup chopped apricots
3/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
curry roasted chickpeas (recipe below)

For the vinaigrette:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1 tbsp. mango chutney
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
salt to taste

For the Chickpeas
2 15-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and dried
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

For the Vinaigrette: Place all ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well.

For the chickpeas: Preheat oven to 425 degrees;. Toss the chickpeas with oil and 2 tablespoons of the Curry seasoning. Spread on a large baking sheet and bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and crunchy.

Place spinach in a large salad bowl. Top with onion, apricots, almonds and chickpeas. Toss with dressing and serve immediately.