Spinach Salad
This Spinach Salad uses crisp greens, crumbled bacon, dried cranberries, Asiago cheese and is tossed with a red wine vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 6 Cups fresh spinach
- 4 - 6 strips of bacon - fried until just crisp, drained on paper towels and then crumbled
- 1 cup cremini mushrooms - or white mushrooms
- 1 boiled egg - diced
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup grated Asiago cheese - optional
Dressing
- 5 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- ½ Tbsp maple syrup - could substitute with 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
- ¼ Tsp salt - the bacon adds saltiness, so little salt is needed
- ½ - 1 Tsp Dijon or your favourite good mustard
- good grinding of fresh pepper
Instructions
- Remove the stems and part of the vein of the spinach leaves by pinching the leaf sides together by the base of the stem and gently pulling. The stem and part of the vein will come off and can be discarded. Some people do not like to do this step, because it can be a little time consuming, but the finished product is superior when the stems are removed.
- Thoroughly wash the spinach and then spin it dry or dry it in a tea towel. Then put all the spinach on a clean tea towel and wrap it up and put it in the fridge for about half and hour. This wicks moisture away from the leaves and crisps them up.
- Whisk all the dressing ingredients together, with a whisk or hand blender.
- Place the crisped spinach in a large salad bowl. Top with the crumbled bacon, mushrooms, dried cranberries, diced boiled egg and Asiago cheese (if using).
- Toss with the dressing just before serving.
Variation
- Fry the mushroom and some onion in a little olive oil until they are soft and golden and then deglaze the pan with a little balsamic vinegar. Omit the raw mushrooms from the salad and add the warm mushroom mixture just before serving.