This salad has just four ingredients (if you count the dressing as one). You might think, that’s not much of a recipe. But salads don’t have to be complex to be good. In fact I believe one way to ruin a salad is to toss in a bunch of extraneous stuff that does nothing but throw off the balance of flavors and textures. As I explain in my Salad Matrix, a good salad should have a blend of creamy and crunchy textures, and salty and sweet flavors. For extra credit, add contrasting warm and cold temperatures.
This perfect little salad hits all three of those marks. The spinach is tender and chewy, the eggs creamy, the bacon crispy, warm and salty. The maple vinaigrette is sweet and tangy, tying all the other flavors together.
I like to dress the spinach first, tossing the leaves with the dressing to make sure each one is coated evenly. Then after arranging the eggs and bacon on top, drizzle on a little more of the dressing.
The bacon is not a garnish on this salad, it’s an equal partner to the eggs and spinach. Tear it into big, bite-sized chunks rather than crumbling it up into little bits.
Cook the eggs however you like them. This is what I do.
In any salad it’s important to use the freshest produce you can find. When ingredients are served raw or in a simple preparation, there’s no hiding inferior quality. Here, the spotlight is on the spinach. Make this salad when fresh picked spinach is abundant at farm stands, or from your own garden. This is not the time for the sad bag of imported stuff from who knows where or when.
This is another in my occasional series of Main Dish Salads. Here are the others:
- #1: Baby Greens with Chicken and Goat Cheese
- #2: Not Quite Nicoise
- #3: Chili Chicken Chopped Salad
- For more salad-building ideas, see my Salad Matrix.
Spinach Salad with Bacon, Egg and Maple Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 2 slices bacon
- 2 ounces (about 3 cups) fresh spinach, torn into bite-sized pieces, or baby spinach
- 2 tablespoons Basic Vinaigrette, Maple Dijon variation, or to taste
- Kosher salt
- 3 hard boiled egg halves, from 1½ large eggs
Directions
- Step 1 Cook the bacon. (I like to roast bacon on a foil-lined baking sheet at 400 degrees, turning once to brown both sides, but use whatever method you prefer.)
- Step 2 While the bacon is cooking, make the vinaigrette (Maple Dijon variation).
- Step 3 Toss the spinach with 1 tablespoon of the dressing in a large, shallow bowl or on a plate. Sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt.
- Step 4 Arrange the egg halves around the edges of the bowl or plate.
- Step 5 Drain the bacon briefly on a paper towel, then tear the warm bacon into pieces and pile them in the center of the salad. Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of dressing, or more to taste.
