A few weeks ago, Naomi Osaka rocked the world when she quit the French Open in a measure to protect her mental health. Social media exploded. And salad company sweetgreen, who had recently signed Osaka on as a face of their product, vocally backed her. In a day and age where more and more people are pushing for mental health advocacy, it was an important moment.
I mean, I think a lot of people in my generation (Gen X into Millenial) can relate to our childhoods and teenage years and the shame society placed on mental illness. Honestly, I hate that term: “mental illness.” It just makes it seem even more like something is wrong with you. And yeah, you can argue that “something is wrong with you” when you have depression, anxiety, or whatever else is afflicting your normal mental flow.
But, at the same time, there is just so much shit going on in the world, ya know? I grew up in the midst of the AIDS pandemic with loved ones close to me sick from blood transfusions. I lived right across the water from the Trade Center when the attacks occurred 20 years ago. We’re currently living in the midsts of a pandemic! Life is hard! So, it’s understandable that anyone might suffer from anxiety, depression, or any other ailment.
Let alone, I cannot even imagine the immense pressure of being an elite sports’ star with the world’s focus on your every action (god forbid Osaka posts a picture of herself in a bikini ~ shame!). Every real and human emotion is criticized, critiqued, and pulled apart. We stop thinking of these people as human and don’t extend the same compassions we would a stranger on the street.
So, yeah, Osaka made a stand. Said she wouldn’t deal with the archaic expectations of the French Open and quit. And most of the world rallied around her. And this is a long, long, long diatribe into this recipe, which all came down to sweetgreen, the company who stood behind Osaka.
So, when I read that sweetgreen had joined the masses rallying behind Osaka, I went online to check them out and discovered that they’re a salad company. They have places in the NY area, but nowhere near me, and I haven’t been in the city since pre-pandemic (although I’m itching to take the ferry over already!!). Regardless, I perused their menu and alit on a chicken pesto parm salad that sounded AWESOME. Since I couldn’t head out to get a salad from them, I decided to “recreate” the salad from home! And I put “recreate” in quotes because, well, can you really recreate something you’ve never tried? I don’t know, just asking.
I did decide to switch up some of their ingredients, swapping out the roasted chicken for turkey meatballs and adding sun-dried tomatoes to the pesto vinaigrette. The rest, I pieced together based on their ingredient list and best guess as to how I think it should be prepared! And, let me tell you, this was fricking delicious! Some people may be turned off because this is a “warm” salad bowl, but it is really, really good.
I absolutely loved the turkey meatballs with this, and amazingly, my son turned to me and said “I really like these meatballs”!! So that was awesome. Really, the whole thing was just YUM. Even if you aren’t a huge quinoa fan, it melds really nicely in this salad. And, well, quinoa is just so healthful that it’s worth adding it into your diet from time to time!
So, in a long winded sort of way, Osaka quitting the French Open led to this recipe! So, rock on lady and thank you!
Enjoy!
Warm Spinach & Quinoa Salad with Turkey Meatballs, Roasted Broccoli, and a Pesto Vinaigrette
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Dinner
Ingredients
Turkey Meatballs
1½ lbs ground turkey
1 TB Dijon mustard
1 TB Worcestershire sauce
⅓ cup breadcrumbs
⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
pinch salt & pepper
Broccoli
12 oz broccoli florets
1 TBs olive oil
pinch red pepper flakes
pinch salt & pepper
To Serve
1 cup uncooked quinoa
3 – 4 cups baby spinach
10 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
shaved Parmesan
croutons
Pesto Vinaigrette
1 lemon, zested & juiced
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained from oil
¼ cup pesto
2 TBs red wine vinegar
¼ cup chicken broth
salt & pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a large bowl, mix together the ground turkey, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Form into small meatballs, about 1 to 2 tablespoons each. Line up on a baking sheet. Spread the broccoli around the meatballs and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the broccoli. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and lightly season with salt and pepper. Gently toss everything to coat in the olive oil, being careful to not damage the meatballs. Bake for 20 minutes, gently tossing halfway through.
While the meatballs and broccoli cook, make the quinoa according to the package.
Make the vinaigrette by adding the sun-dried tomatoes and pesto to a food processor. Process until finely chopped. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and chicken broth. Pulse until combined. Season to taste with salt and vinegar.
Add the spinach and tomatoes to serving bowls. Sprinkle with shaved Parmesan and croutons. Add the turkey meatballs, roasted broccoli, and cooked quinoa. Drizzle with the pesto vinaigrette and toss to combine. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Keywords: spinach salad, quinoa salad, turkey meatballs, turkey meatball salad, sweet green salad, sweet green salad bowl, turkey meatball and spinach salad, pesto vinaigrette
