As a food blogger I often feel compelled to write recipes featuring dishes created from scratch. Now, I don't mean "from scratch" as in "not from a box." I mean fresh, new, everything was chopped, prepped, cooked, and finished today. The reality is I, like many of us, eat leftovers quite often. In fact, more often than not as someone who works two-thirds of my time from home I am not only eating leftovers, I am eating leftovers for one.
The trick to spinning shiny, fresh gold from yesterday's hay is to let your mind wander so that it peers beyond last night's plate and into today's possibilities. I am apparently so skilled in this particular alchemy that I once earned the moniker Queen of Leftovers for my ability to transform an otherwise insipid array of leftovers into a completely new and inspired meal. This salad was created using a leftover piece of grilled pork loin and grilled asparagus from dinner the night before, along with some of the blackberry sauce I made to go with this pork belly, combined with enough fresh and flavorful new ingredients to make me feel like I was enjoying a made-to-order meal.
Grilled Pork and Spinach Salad with Blackberries ~ serves 1
1.5 oz raw baby spinach
2.5 oz grilled asparagus
.75 oz blackberry vinegar sauce
3.5 oz grilled pork, cubed
2 oz fresh blackberries
.25 oz slivered almonds, raw or toasted
salt & pepper to taste
Cube pork and asparagus and toss with the blackberry vinegar sauce. Arrange baby spinach on a plate and top with pork, asparagus, blackberries and almonds. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.
Um... yeah. That's it. Done and done.
This salad is so good I would definitely make it fresh; particularly for a summer cookout or potluck. But you know what I like best about leftovers? Lunch is ready faster than you can say Rumplestiltskin!
Enjoy!
Wonderful salad. That's the best thing about food blogging - we can always figure out a way to turn leftovers into a delicious meal and our next blog post. :)
ReplyDeleteHaha - true! Usually it's just leftovers for dinner. :)
DeleteMmmmmm. I need veggies something fierce. It turns out, I'm also going to be needing some blackberry vinegar sauce. I can't understand for the life of me why I've deprived myself.
ReplyDeleteJess...simply divine!!
Honestly, I could eat that vinegar sauce with a spoon.
DeleteThats what we have to do sometimes, Jess! Add a few fabulous ingredients and voila! :-)
ReplyDeleteThis salad looks wonderful, thank you for the great idea!
ReplyDeletegasp! blackberries, asparagus, almonds, and spinach sound heavenly!! i love your quote "to peer beyond last night's plate and into today's possibilities" - since i only cook for myself, i tend to get into a routine of eating the same things. i need to venture out more often!
ReplyDeleteMmmmm! What a combination! All my favorite things, and blackberries - gorgeous salad :)
ReplyDelete