Watermelon stars in vitamin-rich salad

PHOTO: The Red Eye Special Salad would be a fine addition to a Mother’s Day celebration. | WATERMELON BOARD

No doubt about it, watermelon is near the top of my list of all-time favorite foods. So when I see a recipe where it plays a pivotal role, it captures my interest.

This recipe for Red Eye Special Salad is so darn pretty. There’s a sea of red — watermelon, raspberries, pomegranate seeds, red onion — nestled against baby spinach.

But this salad is more than just a good looker. It supplies more than half your day’s need for B vitamin folate , the entire day’s requirement for vitamin A and generous doses of vitamin C, iron, magnesium, calcium and antioxidants, according to the Watermelon Board.

So you get a healthy dose of vitamins with a good-looking salad. What’s not to like?

On first glance it may look like there’s a bit of work to this, but not really. That’s just the ingredients for the dressing, which really isn’t difficult to put together and trust me, it will be so much tastier than any you can find on a grocery store shelf. It makes ¾ cup, so unless you like your salad soggy, you should have dressing left over for another day.

If you’re making this for a gathering (it’s easy to double it), prepare the dressing the night before and see how little time the salad itself takes.

RED EYE SPECIAL SALAD

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

(AND ¾ CUPS OF DRESSING)

Dressing:

1 cup pomegranate juice

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (or pomegranate vinegar, if you can find it)

1½ tablespoons orange zest

1 tablespoon agave syrup

1 small minced shallot

⅛ teaspoon stone-ground mustard

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Dash of salt and peppper

Salad:

8 cups baby spinach (one 6-ounce bag or carton)

¾ cup diced red onion

2 cups diced watermelon (placed on paper towel to drain excess liquid)

1 (6-ounce) container of fresh raspberries

½ cup pomegranate seeds

To make the dressing, put juice in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and simmer until reduced to about 3 tablespoons and liquid is a thick syrup. Set aside. When cool, add remaining dressing ingredients, from vinegar to salt and pepper. Whip. Set aside for flavors to blend.

When preparing the salad, place spinach in a large serving bowl. Top with onion, watermelon, raspberries and pomegranate seeds. Divide between 4 salad plates and drizzle with dressing.

From The Watermelon Board