This simple warm salad recipe with a French bistro-style vinaigrette makes for a lovely starter course or tasty lunch. Easy to assemble and packed with flavor, this salad is light, but satisfying. Omit the bacon and Parmesan shavings for a vegetarian, Kosher version. The recipe is for two, but can easily be doubled.
Warm Spinach, Mushroom and Bacon Salad
Servings: 2
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: About 25 minutes
4 cups (70 g) packed baby spinach, cleaned
1 ear of corn (about 1 cup of kernels)
2 slices of bacon
2 large Portabella mushrooms or about 4 cups mixed wild mushrooms (In France, portabellas can be found at certain organic stores or at Costco)
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup (60 ml) apple cider vinegar
¼ cup (60 ml) + 2 tablespoons good olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan shavings (or grated)
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the ear of corn and boil for 3 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crispy – about 5 minutes on each side. Place the crispy bacon on paper towels.
Slice the mushrooms into 1/2-inch slices. Cut the corn kernels off the ear of corn. Add the mushrooms to the skillet with the bacon fat and cook on medium-high heat for about 5
minutes, flipping once. Add the corn kernels, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and ½ teaspoon of salt to the skillet. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Divide the spinach evenly on two plates. Divide the hot mushrooms and corn evenly and place on the spinach. Crumble one piece of bacon over the mushrooms on each plate.
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and add the sliced shallot. Cook over medium-low heat for 3 minutes until the shallots are softened. Turn off the heat and whisk in the mustard and vinegar. Whisk in ¼ cup (60 ml) of olive oil until the vinaigrette comes together. Pour half of the vinaigrette over each plate of salad. Add some parmesan shavings and freshly ground black pepper to each plate and serve with good bread to soak up the vinaigrette.
And bon appétit!
Comments