spinach salad with mango and candied macadamias

with this hot weather, all i've been craving is salad. more specifically, salad with fruit, nuts, and cheese. its just so refreshing. this is the last part of our "last time cooking at home meal" (which also included the corn soup and the bread pudding). we used a recipe from cooking light, but eliminated the scallops and served it with french bread, goat cheese, and smoked salmon on the side. smoked salmon+goat cheese (or butter, or cream cheese)+baguette=amazing-ness, btw.
spinach salad with mango and candied macadamia nuts
from cooking light. serves 4
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons water, divided
• 1/4 cup macadamia nuts or pecans
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2 cups diced peeled mango (about 1 large), divided
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1 pound sea scallops
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 8 cups packaged spinach
• 1 cup vertically sliced red onion
  

[if, like us, you skip the scallops, you don't need the scallops, obviously, or the salt, pepper, or oil. and for any vegans, without the scallops the salad is vegan.]

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in nuts. Spread nut mixture onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Immediately scrape onto a sheet of foil coated with cooking spray. Spread evenly; cool completely. Lightly chop; set aside.

Combine 2 tablespoons water, 1/2 cup mango, juice, ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Stir in poppy seeds; set dressing aside.

Sprinkle scallops with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Heat oil in a grill pan or medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallops; sauté 2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan.

Arrange 2 cups spinach on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 3 ounces scallops, 1/4 cup mango, and 1/4 cup onion. Drizzle each serving with 3 tablespoons dressing; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon nut mixture.

-lola