Well here’s my twelfth, and therefore last day of Christmas. It’s been lots of fun putting together all these Christmas posts and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them.

This salad is a staple in our house during the Summer. I get requested to make it every Easter and we often have it at home for a light dinner. What I love about this salad is that it’s a great way to to use up leftover meat from Christmas. Take your leftover roast turkey, chicken or even ham and add it to the salad for a light Boxing Day lunch. To make it into more of a meal, you can add some cooked pasta or croutons.

Spinach and Cranberry Salad
serves 4 as a light lunch, probably 10 as a side

300g baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
2 large carrots, grated
3 handfuls cashews
3 handfuls dried cranberries (craisins)
leftover roast meat or ham, cut into pieces (optional)

Dressing
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 tbsp lightly flavoured olive oil
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp grainy mustard

To make the dressing, add all ingredients to a jar and put on the lid and shake. Test it for balance and adjust to your taste. I personally like the dressing sweet and sour, so I don’t add any salt.

Toast the cashews by cooking them in a dry frying pan and stir over gentle heat. Don’t take your eyes off them because they take seconds to go from golden and toasted to burnt. Transfer to a chopping board and leave to cool. Chop coarsely.

To serve, toss spinach, carrot, meat if using and dressing together in a bowl. Sprinkle cashews and craisins on top. If you toss it all together, the cashews and craisins all end up at the bottom of the bowl.

I’m all about working with what you’ve got, so feel free to use any mustard in the dressing that you have on hand. The cashew nuts can also be substituted for almonds, walnuts or pine nuts.