Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

Welcome to classic comfort and flavor: a traditional spinach salad, light and indulgent at once. Imagine it now — tender spinach and frisée with crispy bacon, velvety cooked egg and thin-sliced red onion. But then? Prepare to swoon for the warm bacon vinaigrette that subtly wilts the greens, a blend of smoky bacon drippings, tangy lemon and just a touch of sweetness. It's a dance of savory 'n' sweet that will leave you longing for a French bistro and just one more bite, just one more bite.

An Approachable, Homestyle Salad, Simply Prepared. A Vintage, Easy Tried-and-True Recipe. An Easy "Extra" Side Salad or a Light Weeknight Supper Salad. Easily Adapted to Your Family's Tastebuds. Perfect When Cooking for One or Two. Year-Round Kitchen Staple. Budget Friendly. Naturally Gluten Free. What're you waiting for?! So Good!!

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First, a Poem & Praise Song for Seasons.

Just before the green begins there is the hint of green

a blush of color, and the red buds thicken

the ends of the maple's branches and everything

is poised before the start of a new world,

which is really the same world

just moving forward from bud

to flower to blossom to fruit

to harvest to sweet sleep, and the roots

 await the next signal

- from "April Prayer"
by poet Stuart Kestenbaum

But Yes, Finally, It's Spring!

Spring eased into Missouri some time in the past weeks, overnight, it must have been, since on no one day was its arrival a certainty. In the local paper, the letters to the editor take on this new season’s controversy, whether chickens, especially the crowing roosters, make good neighbors.

More families, it seems, are putting chicken coops in the back yard. To some, this is an unwelcome intrusion in suburban tranquility. To others, it’s a pastoral return to our rural roots.

If tomato stakes, then I wonder, why not chickens? Surely, there’s room in our great spaces for animals that feed us, along with the ones we feed. You'd think, yes?

Leftover Easter Eggs?

For families awash in leftover Easter eggs, this classic spinach salad is a welcome way to help reduce their number to that of perhaps one or two fertile hens. But even if you must boil some eggs especially for the salad, it is a reminder of how simple ingredients can yield something completely satisfying.

For those times, here's how I do it.

• To prep eggs ahead of time? Turn to Perfect Hard-Cooked Eggs. The technique works every time, no green rings around the yolks, no sticky shells.
• For runny yolks? Poach one or more eggs just before serving, the eggs should be hot out of the water at the same time the greens are being dressed. Here's how I do it, How to Poach a Perfect Egg.
• For a mix of some hard and some runny? Try steaming the eggs using a simple technique that lets you cook soft-cooked eggs and hard-cooked eggs at the same time. This works extra-well for situations where some prefer runny yolks and some do not. Steaming eggs is a game-changer, see How to Steam Eggs.
• Or fry an egg!
• Or .... you know, do you, whatever that is.

Happy Accident: How to Save 300 Calories in a Single Serving

By accident, the first time I made Spinach Salad way back many years ago, I left out an entire 2/3 of a cup of oil in the Warm Bacon Dressing. I truly thought all that oil was a typo!

But what a happy accident!

With zero added oil, the bacon flavor remains rich because the bacon drippings aren't watered (oiled?) down. The dressing remains warm and the lemon adds a bright sharpness.

That said, my taste runs to an assertive salad dressing. So do take a taste of a spinach leaf thin coat of dressing: if the dressing is a little sharp for your taste, sure, add a little more bacon fat to the skillet but trust me, you'll need far less than 2/3 of a cup.

Spring’s light is here, light food just seems right too.

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How do you save and share favorite recipes? recipes that fit your personal cooking style? a particular recipe your mom or daughter or best friend would just love? If this recipe inspires you, please do save and share! I'd be honored ...

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SPINACH SALAD with WARM BACON DRESSING

Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Time to table: 30 minutes
Serves 4

BACON
• 4 strips meaty bacon (see ALANNA's TIPS)

WARM BACON DRESSING
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 3 lemons)
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper


• 2 tablespoons bacon fat from cooking the bacon
• Cooked Bacon Pieces

SALAD
• 6 ounces baby spinach, washed well and dried, stems removed, chopped unless very tender
• 1 handful frisée or another bitter green (What Are Bitter Greens?), optional (see TIPS)
• 4 fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 a small red onion, peeled and sliced very thin into rings

TO FINISH
• 4 large cooked eggs (see TIPS), halved or chopped

COOK THE BACON In a small skillet, slowly cook the bacon until crispy, turning often. Turn off the heat and transfer the strips to a plate covered with a paper towel; once cool, cut into small pieces. Keep two tablespoons of bacon fat in the skillet, remove the rest for another use.

MAKE THE BACON DRESSING While the bacon cooks, run the garlic and sugar through a mini food processor, this minces the garlic into itty-bitty bits so there's no big chunks in the dressing itself. Add the mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pour this into the skillet that holds the 2 tablespoons bacon fat, add the cooked bacon pieces too. Leave the heat off for now, this gives the flavors the chance to meld – you know, to get all friendly and cozy together.

SALAD Prep the spinach, frisée, mushrooms and red onion but keep the greens, mushrooms and onion kept separate from one another for now.

JUST BEFORE SERVING Cook the eggs. Just before they're done, rewarm the Bacon Dressing, yes, it might sizzle!

PULL IT ALL TOGETHER There are at least two ways to serve the salad. I tend to go for Big & Messy when serving this as a side salad, Calm & Composed when it's a light but indulgent supper salad. Your call!

FAMILY STYLE, BIG & MESSY In a large bowl, toss the spinach leaves and frisée with the Warm Bacon Dressing until the leaves are evenly covered. Gently stir in the mushrooms, onion and cooked egg. Transfer to serving plates. Serve and savor!

BISTRO STYLE, CALM & COMPOSED In a large bowl, toss the spinach leaves and frisée with about half the Warm Bacon Dressing until the leaves are evenly covered. Spread the greens on four individual plates, then arrange the mushrooms, onion and cooked egg on top. Drizzle these last ingredients with the remaining Dressing. Serve and savor!

ALANNA’s TIPS This is a simple, simple salad but it's also an exercise in timing. The eggs and bacon need to be cooked, the Bacon Dressing needs a little time for the flavors to meld, the salad ingredients prepped for serving. Plot your course! At first, I thought it would be easier to cook the bacon in the oven (see my recipe for Baked Bacon). But for just a few strips, the skillet is faster, especially since you need the bacon fat anyway. I love the color and taste contrast that frisée (also called curly endive) offers but sprouts work too, especially radish sprouts which add a nice radish bite, good contrast to the creamy eggs and sharp dressing. Instead of raw red onion, use these wonderful Spiced Pickled Red Onions! For cooked eggs, Hard-Cooked Eggs work great and may be made even a few days ahead of time. But! For this salad, I also really appreciate this technique for steaming eggs (see How to Steam Eggs) because of the option to soft cook some eggs for the Spinach Salad while hard-cooking more for the fridge. If you love runny eggs? This is a great option. But! Poached eggs also work, see How to Poach a Perfect Egg. Again, your call, of course.

RECIPE HISTORY For the first years this Spinach Salad was on the menu here, I used a full 12 ounces of baby spinach. Over time, I found that to be too much so dropped it way back to just half while keeping all the other ingredients the same. It just feels more balanced this way. To end up with six ounces, however, you'll need to start off with more than that, then remove the stems.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Serving: 212 Cal; 14g Tot Fat; 5g Sat Fat; 125mg Cholesterol; 353mg Sodium; 10g Carb; 3g Fiber; 4g Sugar; 10g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS Old Points 5 & PointsPlus 5 & SmartPoints 7 & Freestyle 5 & myWW green 5 & blue 5 & purple 5 & future WW points This recipe has been "Alanna-sized" with reductions in fat and increases in nutrient- and fiber-rich vegetables.

Adapted from Saveur, Issue 82

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Seasonal Eating: Early Spring Across the Years

KITCHEN PARADE
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A VEGGIE VENTURE
Cauliflower-Broccoli Cheddar Horseradish Gratin Roasted Parsnips with Pine Nuts Cream of Celery Soup Beet & Walnut Salad Zucchini Lemon-Honey Salad Zucchini Moons with Mint & Parsley Microwave Green Beans with Easy Tomatillo Salsa Green Chutney Reuben Casserole << leftover corned beef? Roasted Broccoli with Lemon & Garlic Sushi Salad Crustless Quiche with Roasted Peppers << this week's healthy favorite! Cauliflower Hummus Creamy Spinach with Artichokes << a great choice for Easter! Falafel Burgers (Lentil Burgers) Weight Watchers Spinach & Tortellini Soup

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If you like Kitchen Parade's recipes, you'll love A Veggie Venture, my food blog about vegetables with more from-scratch recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, home to the famous Alphabet of Vegetables and vegetables in every course, seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special.

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Hello, Bacon People

more
~ bacon recipes ~

• THE RECIPE BLT Pasta Salad A fresh approach for a summer favorite.
• ANOTHER TAKE Italian Pasta Salad with Garlicky Tomatoes & Collard Greens Orzo sweetened with soft, syrupy tomatoes and tender greens.

• THE RECIPE Sautéed Collard Greens with Bacon For good fortune and good health in the new year. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Jubilee Greens How to sautée leafy greens like spinach, chard, kale & more. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Grilled Steak with Tomato-Avocado Salad in a Warm Poblano-Bacon Vinaigrette A hearty salad supper, steak with a mess of lettuce, tomatoes, avocado in a poblano-bacon vinaigrette.
• ANOTHER TAKE Loaded Iceberg Steaks with Homemade Thousand Island Dressing Fall back in love with iceberg lettuce, loaded with summer goodies.

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Leftover Eggs?

~ Simple Egg Salad with a Twist (2 cooked eggs) ~
~ Old-Fashioned Potato Salad (3 cooked eggs) ~
~ Spinach Soup with Perfect Hard-Cooked Eggs (5 cooked eggs) ~

~ Creamed Eggs with Spinach (4 cooked eggs) ~
~ Insalata di Finocchio aka Fennel Salad (4 cooked eggs) ~

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Shop Your Pantry First

(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

~ cooked eggs ~
~ bacon ~
~ spinach ~
~ mushrooms ~

~ All Recipes, By Ingredient ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries ~

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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