This warm Spinach Basil Salad with prosciutto combines the classic flavours of pesto! Fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts and olive oil makes a simple salad with a no-vinegar dressing. It’s easy and so delicious you’ll want to make it for friends. Like so many homemade salads it's naturally gluten free.
If you love basil create a menu with fresh basil in every course. Start with an appetizer version of Bocconcini Cherry Tomato Skewers followed by this salad. For the main course serve this grilled chicken with olive tapenade and tomato basil sauce. If you love the them a simple dessert would be fresh strawberries drizzled with a premium balsamic vinegar topped with finely shredded basil. End this casual summer menu with Italian Affogato with grated chocolate.
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Ingredients
This is the perfect recipe to splurge on quality ingredients. Spend a little more for a nice extra virgin olive oil, use real Parmesan cheese and treat yourself to pine nuts.
- Spinach & fresh basil leaves - This is the combo that makes the salad.
- Extra virgin olive oil - This is when to use the best quality olive oil you have.
- Pine nuts - They're expensive so I think of them as a treat.
- Prosciutto - Frizzled prosciutto adds a salty contrast in this salad.
- Parmesan cheese - I recommend Parmaggino Regianno or Grana Padano. Freshly grated on top just before serving is the best!
See recipe card for complete ingredient list and exact amounts.
Instructions
Salads need to be tossed at the last minute when guests are already at the table. For this salad you can sauté the garlic, pine nuts and prosciutto according to the instructions in advance. Leave in the pan on the stove and simply reheat and toss with the spinach-basil mixture at the last minute.
Substitutions & Variations
Spinach - Try arugula or a combination of the two.
Pine Nuts - Substitute pumpkin seeds if you like.
Gluten Free Dinner Club
Gluten free cooks want to enjoy dining experiences like everyone else but eating in restaurants can be difficult and stressful. Those are good reasons to start your own Dinner Club. My Gourmet Dinner Club has been cooking and eating together for more than thirty years.
You can design your Dinner Club however you want. Whether you focus on cooking with whole foods or challenge everyone to make more difficult gluten free recipes, it can be a lot of fun. You don't need to make it formal and your friends don't have to be gluten free. They just need to be interested in cooking! Check out this post, How to Start a Dinner Club for more ideas.
Top Tip
Collect your favourite recipes in every category. I love salads and eat them almost every day. I have so many awesome salad recipes that I never get tired of them. I might only make this recipe in the summer but it is so good I've been making it for decades and my friends rave about it!
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Warm Spinach Salad with Prosciutto
Ingredients
- 6 cups fresh spinach
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves cut in half if large
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup pine nuts
- 4 oz prosciutto cut in strips
- freshly ground pepper
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Combine spinach and basil together in a large bowl.
- Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and pine nuts, sauté 1-2 minutes until the nuts begin to brown.
- Add the prosciutto and cook, stirring, for another minute.
- Pour warm dressing over spinach mixture and toss.
- Top with lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and black pepper.
Nutrition
More Recipes with Spinach
When you've got fresh spinach you want a handful of recipes you can make to use it up. These are some of mine.
Donna
This recipe is FABULOUS! Great crowd pleaser. made it without the ham for vegetarian crowd and they loved it!
Cinde Little
Thanks for letting me know Donna, I'm glad you liked it! I love this salad and have made it many times. I too skip the meat on some occasions but I often make it when I have leftover prosciutto for pizza. When I'm out of pine nuts, or can't bare to pay the price, I use pumpkin seeds. There's a little room for variation but the spinach, basil, Parm is a match made in heaven.
Abby
Loved this! Will make it again.
Cinde Little
Thanks Abby, I'm glad you like it as much as I do!