The Simplest Spinach Salad

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is spinach healthy?

  Spinach is a dark leafy green vegetable that is chock-full of nutrition, including vitamins A, C and K. Eating spinach has been linked with healthy eyes, skin and bones, as well as lower blood pressure.

• Is feta cheese good for you?

  Like most other cheeses, feta delivers some protein and calcium. It’s considered a higher-sodium cheese, so if you’re watching your sodium intake, eat it in moderation and watch how much salt you’re adding to other foods. Thankfully, due to feta’s pungent taste, you need just a little bit to get its flavor.

• What are some good substitutes for pine nuts?

  For this recipe, you could swap out pine nuts (also known as piñón, pinoli or pignoli) for roasted or raw cashews, pistachios or toasted walnuts, but we suggest chopping them to the size of pine nuts so they are sprinkled evenly over the salad. Botanically speaking, pine nuts are seeds, but the FDA classifies them as tree nuts. Anyone sensitive to nuts should consult with their allergist before indulging. In the meantime, if you don’t have a seed allergy, you could top your salad with sunflower seeds, hemp seeds or pumpkin seeds (also known as pepitas).

• Is there a difference between rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar?

  They’re the same cooking ingredient—a flavoring agent resulting from a fermentation process that converts rice to alcohol to vinegar. The keyword here is vinegar. If the label shows rice wine without the mention of vinegar, you’re looking at a different product—an alcoholic beverage. Also, note that if your rice vinegar shows the word “seasoned” on the label, skip it unless your recipe calls for it, as it has a different flavor. At the grocery store, you should be able to find rice vinegar in the international aisle or the aisle with salad dressings, olive oils and vinegars.