This is a delicious, slightly warm and very flavorful salad that goes well as an appetizer to serve before any meat dish, such as roast beef, pork tenderloin or a lamb roast. It is a bold and heavier salad so you can go lighter on the dinner sides. If you divide this into 2 portions instead of 4, it can be a meal all on its own. We will often eat this as our only side dish at dinner, with a pork chop or flank steak, for example.
TIPS: The dressing must be added right at the point of eating the salad as it will wilt the spinach too much of it sits too long. Be careful when you add the vinegar to the hot fat as it will splatter. Make sure it is off the heat at that point or your vinegar will quickly evaporate and leave you with no dressing. You can add as much bacon or egg as you desire.
Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 8 – 10 oz fresh baby spinach
- 4 large eggs
- 6 – 8 slices thick bacon
- 4 large white mushrooms sliced thin
- 1 small shallot (or half of a very small red onion) sliced thin
For the Warm Dressing:
- 3 Tbsp reserved bacon fat, still hot
- 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- kosher salt and pepper
Instructions
- Make the hard-boiled eggs: Bring a saucepan with water 3 inches deep to a boil. Once boiling, shut off the heat, and gently lower the eggs into the water, cover, and let sit 13-15 minutes undisturbed. Remove eggs from the water with a spoon or ladle and cool the eggs to room temperature to be able to peel. You can run them under cool water also to cool faster, or this step can be done ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to use. Peel the eggs and slice into 4 slices each.
- Place baby spinach in a large salad bowl. Slice mushrooms and shallots, and set on top of the spinach. Set aside.
- In a medium sauté pan fry the bacon until crisp. Turn off heat and remove bacon onto paper towels to drain, and set aside. Reserve at least 3 Tbsp of the hot bacon fat in the pan. Whisk the vinegar, sugar, dijon and a pinch of salt and pepper into the hot fat. Immediately pour over the spinach, and toss the spinach, shallots and mushrooms with the dressing.
- Chop the bacon and top the salad with the bacon and sliced egg. Season the egg with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
- Enjoy!