What fruit pair well with spinach?

Question

What fruit pair well with spinach? This is for a cold spinach-based salad rather than cooked spinach, but I'd be interested in warm spinach too.

@Chris S - this seems awfully broad. Can you give some criteria to help us provide better answers? — justkt, Feb 09 '11 at 15:39
I agree that this question needs refining so that it can actually be answered with something other than a list of recipes or subjective opinions on veg/fruit pairings. — Allison, Feb 09 '11 at 16:31
I agree with the previous comments. Most questions about pairing tend to ask how to pair with a *specific* food, and those are already open-ended; this one's open-ended *and* extremely broad, so I think it will have to be closed as per the [FAQ](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/faq), "every answer is equally valid". If you can narrow it down in some fashion, it might be reopened. — Aaronut, Feb 09 '11 at 19:09
@justk and @aaronut I didn't think there would be that many combinations - at best 5-6 perhaps. Just a list of these would've been fine — Chris S, Feb 09 '11 at 19:24
@Chris S - in this case, there are actually *tons* of cool contributions (I grew up on combined fruit/veggie salads), plus you can get into all sorts of neat grilled options, etc. It's extremely broad. If you can tell us how to get the 5-6 you were thinking of, we could perhaps answer that. — justkt, Feb 09 '11 at 19:27
@justkt I've restricted it to 5, hopefully that's more of a question than a discussion — Chris S, Feb 09 '11 at 21:00
@Chris S - your current restriction lets either 1) five people answer (no system enforcement) or 2) an unlimited number of people suggest 5 things. We need something that 1 to a few number of people would have a *definitive* answer to (I like the following fruits: and the following veggies:, I appreciate pairing such as: I found these pairings on flavorpairing.be, etc) — justkt, Feb 09 '11 at 21:09
@justk ok I give up. I'm not looking for the answer to a quadratic equation, just some salad ideas with fruit — Chris S, Feb 09 '11 at 21:31
@Chris - Aaronut or the community may have a different idea, take it to meta if you'd like. I'm not authority :). You may find what you are looking for [here](http://www.google.com/search?q=fruit+in+salads&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#hl=en&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=fruit+spinach+salad), though. — justkt, Feb 09 '11 at 21:54
Hah, I'm sure the meta chatter in the comments is frustrating and I'm sorry for that. @justkt is correct, however; an artificial limit only changes the question from "list 'em all" to "what's your favourite", which is still largely a matter of opinion. Flavour pairing is a fairly complex topic on its own, so my suggestion would be to take a different tack than rote combinations and ask a few separate questions: (1) what fruits pair well with rocket/spinach/lettuce in a salad, then (2) pick one of those and ask how to pair or balance that with a vegetable. It's OK to ask two questions. :) — Aaronut, Feb 09 '11 at 23:05
@Aaronut ok, updated. Are fruit/vegetable pairings really subjective? I would've thought it'd be a definitive list — Chris S, Feb 10 '11 at 09:58
@jonw and Chris - yes, I'm leaning toward reopening this, I'm just not sure what to do with the answers (expected this to be a new question - that's not meant as a criticism though). I guess I'll leave them for now, even though they're kind of confusing in context. — Aaronut, Feb 11 '11 at 00:21

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 11 '11 at 01:12

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You might consider citrus or other tart fruit with citrus -- mandarin oranges segments are fairly common to pair with spinich; even if you didn't use whole fruit, consider making a vinagrette using orange juice.

I've also seen recipes for spinich salads with strawberries or cranberries; I've also had a pineappe and avocado salad before that might work well with spinish instead of romaine.

answered Feb 11 '11 at 01:12

Joe

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+1 for cranberries.. craisins and oranges work well – zanlok Feb 11 '11 at 02:10
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Note: It best to add the acid right before serving, if you want to avoid discoloration. – soegaard Nov 07 '11 at 09:18

Mien · Answer 2 · 2011-02-11T00:35:58.637

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For salads I advise chicory and apple. I'm not sure if I use the right word when I say 'chicory' so here's a picture of what I mean. I think it's not a very loved veggie because of its bitterness, but I like the combination of the bitterness of the chicory and the sweetness of the apple.

Oh and one tip: cut out the 'root' of the chicory, it's the most bitter part.

Edit: I see the question has changed a bit. I can recommend spinach with sun-dried tomatoes and a few grilled pine nuts (and if you like onion, oregano, garlic). This is something that goes very well with pasta.

edited Feb 11 '11 at 00:35

answered Feb 09 '11 at 14:16

Mien

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In the US, this is most commonly called endive or Belgian endive. Chicory is another name for what most folks call radicchio: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Vegetables/Radicchio2.jpg, or the red version of what you posted: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/photos/redchicory.jpg. – Martha F. Feb 09 '11 at 15:31
A good overview can be found at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicory – Martha F. Feb 09 '11 at 15:33
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Ah thanks, I'm from Belgium and we call it 'witloof'. Every source translated it into 'chicory'. But we have also 'chicorei' which is a part of the same plant, but we used it for coffee etc. Hence, the confusion. – Mien Feb 09 '11 at 15:46

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 11 '11 at 00:34

The qualities I like in complementing raw spinach are tart, crunchy and creamy.

You’ve probably seen before toasted nuts for the crunch, and cheese or dressing for the creamy, but you asked about fruit. Here are some ideas: sour apple, Asian pear, dried banana chips, jicama (not technically a fruit), melon, star fruit, seedless grapes, dried cranberries, raisins, avocado.

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 09 '11 at 15:23

1) Dino Kale and Avacado.

Separate Kale from stems; rip and distress the kale into a bowl, cut up avacado, add sea salt.

I'll be honest the first time eating it is a bit of an adjustment but I love it now. I feel great every time I eat this salad.

2) Mandarin Oranges and Bell Peppers. Think Thai Peanut Salad with a peanut dressing.

score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Feb 11 '11 at 23:01

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pear and candied walnuts with some citrus dressing...maybe some goat cheese too!

answered Feb 11 '11 at 23:01

Manju

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score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 07 '11 at 19:20

I think that figs go brilliantly well with spinach salads. You could use pears, white flesh peaches or green apples for when you can't get figs.

On a different note, Roquefort cheese also works beautifully.

That's actually the recipe for one of my favourite salads.

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Nov 07 '11 at 08:20

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I once had a spinash salad with raisins and cuts of Parmesan cheese. Very tasty.

answered Nov 07 '11 at 08:20

b05

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That's nice, but where's the fruit? I don't think raisins count as fruit. – Marti Nov 23 '11 at 01:14
OK - for me it is fruity - it is a dried fruit. Whatever. – b05 Nov 23 '11 at 14:57

score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Dec 08 '11 at 16:04

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Pomegranate seeds and walnuts fit well with baby spinach salad.

answered Dec 08 '11 at 16:04

MissesBrown

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What fruit pair well with spinach?

8 Answers8