Spinach, bacon and olive salad |
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Servings: 2 as a starter or side dish
Time: about 15 minutes, plus however long it takes to wash the spinach |
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For the salad:
1 packet of fresh spinach leaves, as young as possible
5 or so rashers of bacon
10 black olives
1 shallot
For the dressing:
Olive oil
Balsamic or wine vinegar
Coarse mustard |
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1. |
Wash the spinach thoroughly, remove the stalks and tear into smallish pieces. Drain. |
2. |
Grill or fry the bacon until it's crisp. If I'm grilling, I grill the rashers whole then break them into strips, and if I'm frying I usually cut them into small pieces first. It's up to you. Tip it onto kitchen paper to get rid of the excess fat. |
3. |
Stone the olives and chop them coarsely. |
4. |
Slice the shallot very finely. |
5. |
Throw it all into a salad bowl. |
6. |
To make the dressing: pour a good few glugs of olive oil into a little bowl, add a dash of vinegar, and a large tablespoon of coarse mustard. Whisk it all up with a fork until it's glossy and thick, like mayonnaise. Or use this recipe. |
7. |
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss very thoroughly. |
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I've made a vegetarian version of this, using toasted pine kernels in place of the bacon. It's good, but this is better.
For a warm version, heat the dressing gently in a small non-stick pan before pouring it over the salad. |
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Modified 05/27/00 |
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