Spinach and Apple Salad with Bacon Dressing
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
Description
All the different textures in this salad — crisp onions and apples, crunchy nuts and creamy eggs — keep it interesting.
Ingredients
- 1 Large container of spinach
- 3 hard boiled eggs, diced small or sliced
- 6 slices of bacon, diced and fried
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) of red onion, chopped small
- 1 small red apple, chopped small
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) toasted almonds or pecans
Dressing
- grease of fried bacon
- 2 tsp (10 ml) red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp (5 ml) Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp (10 ml) of honey
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Have bacon fried and eggs boiled.
- In a large skillet with the bacon grease and heat turned off, add the dressing ingredients. With a whisk, blend well. If the bacon grease has become solid, then warm until just melted. When the grease gets too hot it will wilt your spinach. The flavor will be the same but presentation may not be appealing.
- Right before you are ready to serve, toss the spinach with the warm dressing. It takes just a minute for the dressing and bacon dressing to be tossed together. Do not turn the heat on for this or you will end up sautéing your salad.
- Add the remaining ingredients to your salad and serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 350
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it important that the bacon grease is warm but not hot when making the dressing?
The recipe is explicit: build the dressing in the skillet with heat turned off, and if the grease has solidified, warm it only until just melted. The instructions warn that if the grease gets too hot it will wilt the spinach, and that tossing on heat will result in sautéed salad rather than dressed greens. The goal is a warm dressing that barely coats the spinach without cooking it.
When should I toss and serve this salad?
The recipe says to toss the spinach with the warm dressing right before you are ready to serve and to add the remaining ingredients (eggs, bacon, red onion, apple, and toasted nuts) immediately. The warm dressing begins wilting the spinach on contact, so dress and serve in one continuous motion.
