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Spinach-Bacon Salad with Warm Dressing

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Submitted by Shorty

Classic spinach bacon salad with warm bacon vinaigrette, sliced mushrooms, and red onion. Dressing wilts the spinach just enough. Ready in 15 minutes.

YIELD

4 servings

PREP

10 min

COOK

30 min

READY

40 min

This is the steakhouse spinach salad before steakhouses got ideas. Baby spinach, sliced mushrooms, red onion, and crisp bacon get tossed with a warm vinaigrette made right in the bacon skillet from the rendered drippings. The hot dressing wilts the spinach just enough to soften it without turning it into compost.

The bacon fat is the whole point. Those five tablespoons you reserve are the salad’s main flavor, stitched together with Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, sugar, Worcestershire, and a lemon squeeze. Stir everything into the warm fat off heat so the emulsion holds and pour it immediately over the salad. A few seconds too long and the dressing cools; the bacon fat congeals into flecks instead of coating every leaf.

Dry your spinach aggressively. Wet leaves repel warm oil-based dressing, and you will end up with a watery puddle at the bottom of the bowl. A salad spinner or a clean tea towel both work. Tear the spinach into bite-size pieces rather than leaving them whole; it makes every forkful easier.

Chef Tips

  • Use thick-cut bacon for the most flavor and the biggest crumble. Thin grocery bacon disappears under the dressing.
  • Slice the red onion paper-thin. Thick slices overwhelm the salad with raw sulphur bite.
  • Wipe the skillet once to remove any burnt bits before building the dressing. Burnt fond will turn the vinaigrette bitter.
  • Serve immediately. This salad does not hold. Wilted spinach is fine, slimy spinach is not.

Variations

  • Add sliced hard-boiled eggs on top for the full mid-century spinach salad experience.
  • Crumble in blue cheese or feta for a sharper, saltier finish.
  • Swap half the spinach for frisee or curly endive for a crunchier bite that holds up to warm dressing longer.

Ingredients

1 1
PACKAGE PACKAGE SPINACH
¼ 113.4
POUND G MUSHROOMS
sliced
1 1
EACH RED ONION
peeled, sliced
8 8
SLICES SLICES BACON
2 10
TEASPOONS ML DIJON MUSTARD
2 10
TEASPOONS ML SUGAR
2 10
TEASPOONS ML RED WINE VINEGAR
1 5
TEASPOON ML WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
3 15
TEASPOONS ML LEMON JUICE

Directions

Trim the spinach of coarse stems and blemished leaves, and wash.

Pat the spinach dry with paper toweling, tear into bite-size pieces, and put into a large serving bowl along with the mushrooms and onion.

Set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a 12 inch skillet over moderately high heat until crisp -- about 5 minutes.

Drain on paper toweling and reserve.

Pour off all but 5 tablespoons of the drippings.

Reduce the heat to low. Add the mustard, sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice to the drippings.

Stir to mix well.

Pour the dressing over the salad, crumble the bacon over it, and toss thoroughly.

Serve immediately.

* not incl. in nutrient facts Arrow up button

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Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 211g (7.4 oz)
Amount per Serving
Calories 146 45% from fat
 % Daily Value *
Total Fat 7g 11%
Saturated Fat 2g 11%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 18mg 6%
Sodium 477mg 20%
Total Carbohydrate 4g 4%
Dietary Fiber 3g 11%
Sugars g
Protein 19g
Vitamin A 133% Vitamin C 44%
Calcium 9% Iron 15%
* based on a 2,000 calorie diet How is this calculated?
Low Cholesterol, Trans-fat Free, Good source of fiber
 

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