Smokey, crispy, salty. Those three words describe one of my favorite foods: bacon. Served for breakfast alongside poached or fried eggs, stacked on your favorite bread with a big slice of tomato or crumbled over your favorite mac & cheese recipe, it is divine. A few pieces of crumbled bacon will turn any salad into a scrumptious salad. I adapted this recipe found on Epicurious by making a few adjustments to the dressing as well as the salad ingredients. The 1/4 cup brown sugar made the dressing too sweet and the 1/2 onion was overpowering. Cutting back these two ingredients as well as adding less oil made a perfectly balanced dressing with a hint of sweetness and tartness from the red wine vinegar. The dressing is also very good served on iceberg lettuce wedges, with crumbled bacon, of course.
I found a very good applewood smoked bacon at Costco. It comes in a double packet each weighing 2 pounds. Four pounds is a lot of bacon, especially if you are only cooking for two, however, it’s just too good a deal to pass up. I wrap up portions and freeze them to use later.
Super Spinach Salad with Bacon & Eggs ~ Serves 6
Adapted from Epicurious
Dressing
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon Dijon
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard (Coleman’s)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
Puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth and emulsified. I use my immersion blender. It works well for small recipes and clean up is quick. Refrigerate dressing until you are ready to serve the salad.
Salad
8 ounces baby spinach, washed and dried
5 ounces white mushrooms, sliced very thin
thinly sliced Maui or sweet onion – as much as you like
4 thick slices bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
2 large eggs, hardboiled and chopped
2 tablespoons dry roasted sunflower seeds (optional)
2 tablespoons slivered roasted almonds
Layer salad beginning with spinach followed by mushrooms, onions, bacon, eggs, sunflower seeds if using and almonds. Drizzle a generous amount of dressing over the salad and toss to coat well. Serve immediately.