spinach salad with warm bacon dressing

Spinach is not the easiest salad green to work with. Once cooked, it melts into a smooth, buttery green that works perfectly in stir fries and other dishes, but when it is raw it can be rather gritty and unpalatable. Fear not though, once paired with right flavors and textures, spinach transforms into the perfect nutritious bed.

In order to amplify the natural savoriness of spinach, I added a bacon and shallot vinaigrette, crumbled bacon, and some blue cheese. Crunchy corn bread croutons and roasted beets add layers of sweetness and a fine buttery essence. Not to mention, the colors are beautiful!

This recipe makes 4 salads.

Ingredients:

4 oz organic baby spinach leaves

4 ounces bacon, chopped

1 large shallot, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 red beets

1/4 cup blue cheese

1 cup cornbread croutons

Salt & pepper

Begin by roasting your beets. Preheat the oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Rub your beets with a little olive oil, massaging the oil into the skin. Place the on the baking sheet and roast in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size of the beets. Turn the beets occasionally to ensure even roasting. Once they are tender, remove them from the oven and fold the tinfoil around them. Leave for 10 minutes. Slice the beats into 1/4" thick steaks and salt and pepper. Set aside.

Set a pan over medium-high. Place the diced bacon in the pan and cook until crispy and brown. Remove the bacon crumbles and set aside on a paper towel. Drain the pan so all but 3 tablespoons remain in the pan. Add the minced shallot and cook until clear and fragrant, around ten minutes. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Reduce the heat.

Now it's time to plate your salads. Evenly distribute the baby spinach among four plates. Lay two slices of beets on each plate. Sprinkle the bacon crumbles and the bleu cheese evenly. Add a few croutons to each salad. Ladle the dressing over each salad, ensuring an even shallot to liquid ratio. Serve the salad with steak knifes for the beets and dig in!