Time
20 min
Serving
4 persons
Calories
338
This salad combines crispy thick-cut bacon with baby spinach, boiled eggs, mushrooms, and a tangy-sweet warm bacon vinaigrette. Since the dish requires cooking and needs to be prepared right before serving, it is usually served as a main course, with a store-bought rotisserie chicken or broiled salmon on the side. It’s also wonderful with potato leek soup. To save time, use pre-washed baby spinach, pre-sliced mushrooms (and even pre-cooked boiled eggs, if you like) — and pick up a fresh baguette to round out the meal.
Ingredients
- bacon: 8 slices (cut into ½-inch pieces)
- shallot: 0.25 cup (finely chopped, from 1 to 2 shallots)
- cider vinegar: 2.5 Tbsp
- honey: 1.5 Tbsp
- Dijon mustard: 1.5 tsp
- salt: 0.25 tsp (heaping)
- baby spinach: 6 oz (about 8 cups)
- white button or baby bella mushrooms: 8 oz (thinly sliced (about 2 cups))
- egg: 3 piece (hard or soft boiled eggs, thinly sliced or cut into wedges)
- grinds fresh black pepper: 2 piece
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Before making the salad, you’ll need to boil the eggs. Soft-boiled eggs or but hard-boiled eggs are equally delicious.
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Begin by frying the bacon in a nonstick skillet, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.
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While the bacon cooks, start the dressing: in a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
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When the bacon is done, use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel–lined plate.
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Pour the bacon fat into a heatproof bowl, then return 4 tablespoons of the bacon fat to the skillet. Add the shallots to the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Do not brown.
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Add the bacon fat and shallots from the skillet to the vinegar mixture and whisk to combine.
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Add the spinach and mushrooms.
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Toss to coat evenly, then taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.
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Divide the salad between 4 plates or bowls; evenly divide the egg and cooked bacon among them. Serve immediately.
