Baby Spinach Salad with Chicken and Avocado

Baby spinach is the same plant as the big crinkly bunches you find in the produce aisle, just picked young, before the leaves toughen and turn bitter. That is why the leaves are so tender and mild here. They do not need cooking, and a bowl of them is happy to sit under dressing for a while without going limp in an unpleasant way, as long as you keep the wetter bits like tomato for the last moment.

Avocado is the other star, and it is worth knowing a little about it. Once a cut avocado meets air it browns, which is why the slices in this salad look best when they go in close to serving. If you are packing lunches, a squeeze of lemon over the slices slows the browning, though the salad still tastes good a day later with a little brown at the edges. Keep the pit in the cut half if you are storing the rest of the fruit; it helps a little, though plastic wrap pressed right onto the flesh does more.

For the make-ahead version, the idea is simple: keep the dressing separate until you eat. Spinach stays crisp in a sealed container for a day or two, and the chicken and sunflower seeds hold their texture well. Add the dressing just before you sit down, not the night before. Leftover cooked chicken from a roast works beautifully here, and so does a rotisserie breast pulled into chunks. Sunflower seeds stay crunchy longer than nuts do in a dressed salad, so they are a good choice if you want that bite to last.

If you want something warm on the side, a few mini baked potatoes with horseradish cream make a hearty partner, and the sharpness of the horseradish cuts nicely through the creamy ranch. For a fuller plate, a chicken and chickpea quinoa bowl with tahini follows the same spirit, with more grains and a nutty dressing to lean on. And if you like a warm curry at dinner, the one pan sweet potato and spinach curry is a cozy contrast to a cold, crisp bowl.

Serve this on a big platter if you are feeding a crowd, or in four bowls if you are cooking for yourself and want leftovers to last through the week.