Spinach Salad with Beets and Green Apple

Spinach. I always have it in the house. I use it in omelets for breakfast and in smoothies. I make salads a lot so sometimes I use half spinach and half other greens.  Gotta get my greens in every day. It contains fiber, protein, lots of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin K which is hard to come by, and calcium. Buy it. Wash it. Eat it. 

Ingredient amounts for salad are always tricky for me.  I eye ball it. How much do I need to serve two people?  Four people?  This recipe will serve four so I make approximately half of it for the two of us. You have to be exact. Just through in however much of each ingredient you want. 

If you want this to be vegetarian simply omit the bacon. 

Ingredients:
4 beets 
1 green apple 
8 strips bacon 
4 cups raw spinach 
Walnuts, a handfull 
4 tbsp Goat Cheese

Dressing:
2 tbsp Sherry vinegar 
1 tbsp maple syrup 
5 olive oil 
Sea Salt
Pepper, freshly ground 

Make sure the spinach has been washed, de-stemed, and chilled well.  You do not want the spinach to wilt when you add the dressing. It needs to be cold and crunchy.  

Wash the beets well, dry and place on a baking sheet.  Roast in the oven on 400 degrees for 1 hour.  Allow to cool.  Peel and cut into wedges.

Cook the bacon.  Cool and cut into small pieces. 

Toast the walnuts in a saute pan until slightly brown.  Cool and cut into small pieces   

Make the dressing: combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well.  Add enough salt and pepper to season the entire salad. 

When ready to assemble cut the green apple into very thin slices.  

Dress the spinach and plate it.  Then sprinkle on walnuts and bacon, then pile on the beets and green apple.  Top with approximately a tablespoons of goat cheese for each serving.