Irish Salad (aka Irish Flag Salad)

Our Irish Salad (aka Irish Flag Salad) is made with fresh spinach, oranges, pears, and a tangy Irish salad dressing, presented in a beautiful way with the colors of an Ireland flag. This spinach salad is festive and light for St. Patrick’s Day entertaining, or any Irish meal.

Let’s get startedon the best salad with the colors of Ireland’s Flag. Starting with fresh green spinach, and adding all the yummy stoppings (orange, pears, nuts, cheese)–this make a delightful salad for St. Patrick’s Day, with a very light dressing. [This salad recipe has been on RE since February 2019!]

This time of year, I can’t help but think of Irish food, and Irish colors and shamrocks. That is because I’m married to an Irishman, and I have Irish children. So, thus this fantastic Irish Flag Spinach Salad is what we serve. We’ve also enjoyed for years our Pub Salad, a complete different salad with eggs and tomatoes, and a homemade, creamy tarragon dressing.

What is an Irish Salad?

Irish salads are pretty straight forward, versus American salads, which there are quite the variety to enjoy. American salads are often already tossed, and usually smothered with dressing, where Irish salads are deconstructed, with dressing on the side.

My husband has always said “mayonnaise is a spice” in Ireland (his parents were born and raised in Dublin), so when we visited a few years, back, indeed mayonnaise was served on our salad plate.

What are Irish flag colors?

We’re big salad lovers, so this Irish Salad (flag colors) is big on our list of favorites. Irish flag colors are
made up of three colors: green, white, and orange. Typically the colors are arranged in three equal vertical bands, with green on the hoist side, but you can design your salad however you wish.

It’s a fun salad to serve company this time of year. It’s all about presentation! This salad is carefully arranged on a plate, and not tossed or mixed in any shape or form. What a delicious start to your Irish meal! It’s fresh and yummy and so colorful! Serve it with our Guinness Stew and Irish Biscuits and our Irish Bread Pudding for dessert. Want a quick meal? Try our Best Canned Corned Beef Hash (inexpensive, too).

Fresh ingredients an Irish Salad plate:

• Spinach: you can also use butter lettuce if you don’t want to use spinach
• Oranges: you can also use mandarin oranges
• Pears: optional to add apples in place of pears
• Feta cheese: goat cheese is also delightful
• Pistachio nuts: or any kind of nuts
• Fresh basil
• Plus a fabulous dressing: a light drizzle is delicious (vinaigrette or just olive oil and balsamic vinegar)

Ingredients for a vinaigrette

• Olive oil
• Orange juice
• Honey
• Apple cider vinegar
• Lime juice
• Salt to taste

How do you make a simple vinaigrette?

Shake up all the ingredients in a jar, and serve on the side. If you don’t have a canning jar, you can use any jam jar, or even a medium bowl (use a whisk to mix the dressing well).

How do you make the salad?

1. Start with greens: We use fresh spinach but you can also use butter leaf lettuce (Boston lettuce) which is very popular in Ireland.
2. Deconstuct the salad for a beautiful presentation with Irish flag colors: In a large salad bowl or a very large salad plate, layer spinach, pears and oranges, feta cheese, pistachio, basil, and dressing.
3. Serve the dressing on the side.

Tips and substitutions:

• In place of the spinach you can use Boston lettuce (or butter leaf lettuce). We use this lettuce in our Irish Pub Salad. If using large spinach leaves, make sure and remove the stems.
• We love to use our epic salad bowls. They are the perfect size for this salad.
• If pears are not in season, use slices of apple.
• Not a pistachio fan? Use any kind of nuts.
• Replace the feta cheese with goat cheese or Dubliner cheese (grated). All great options!

Serving

This salad is wonderful for an Irish dinner party. It’s great to bring to a party (let your guests know the history behind the Irish flag), and makes the whole dinner festive. We love this served with our Guinness Shepherd’s Pie, Traditional Irish Breads, and Bailey’s Cake for dessert.

More St. Patrick party recipes you may want to try:

• Guinness Pot Roast
• Irish Beef and Lamb Stew
• Irish Guinness Cupcakes

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Irish Salad (aka Irish Flag Salad)

This Irish Salad is made with fresh spinach, oranges, pears, and a light vinaigrette, deconstructed with the colors of an Ireland flag.

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 15 minutes mins

Yield: 4

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Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

Salad

• 2 oranges, cut into slices or supremes
• 1 pear, thinly sliced
• ½ cup feta cheese
• ¼ cup pistachios, roasted and chopped
• ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
• 5 cups spinach, optional to remove the stems

Light dressing:

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 ½ Tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• Salt to taste

Instructions

 

• Start with greens: We use fresh spinach but you can also use butter leaf lettuce (Boston lettuce) which is very popular in Ireland.
• In a large salad bowl or a very large salad plate, layer spinach, pears and oranges, feta cheese, pistachio, and fresh basil.

Make the light dressing:

• Shake up all the dressing ingredients in a jar, and serve on the side. If you don't have a canning jar, you can use any jam jar, or even a medium bowl (use a whisk to mix the dressing well).
• Optional to toss the salad with the dressing, or serve it on the side. [Tossing it will remove the cool "flag" look].

Notes

Updated from February 2019.

Cuisine: Irish

Course: Salad

Author: Sandy / Reluctant Entertainer

Calories: 176kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 17mg, Sodium: 338mg, Potassium: 496mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 3903IU, Vitamin C: 52mg, Calcium: 175mg, Iron: 2mg

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