Opulent Spinach
A little bacon gives fresh spinach a lot of wow
FOOD STYLED BY LARA MIKLASEVICS
Popeye was right: Packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, spinach is a nutritional powerhouse, and even if it doesn’t help you win Olive Oyl’s affections, it can still help you ward off osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer, arthritis, and other afflictions.
Today we’re luckier than Popeye, who only had the overcooked, canned version to eat—we can now enjoy tender, fresh baby spinach leaves anytime we want. Whoever decided to package spinach “ready-to-eat” was a genius in my book. Cleaning all the sand and dirt out of fresh spinach is an inconvenience I have not experienced since I found the prewashed packaged variety. In my opinion the effort of cleaning fresh spinach used to be too much for an everyday meal. Now one of nature’s healthiest greens has become a convenience food.
To capture the best of the autumn season, I toss fresh baby spinach with tart Granny Smith apples, dried cranberries, and a sweet apple cider vinaigrette. Crispy applewood smoked bacon rounds out the flavor. This is a tasty and colorful side dish that can easily be turned into a main course with the addition of grilled chicken or roast turkey
Autumn Harvest Salad
SERVES 4 TO 6
Spinach gets posh with a bit of fruit and a little bacon.
1 bag (5 ounces) baby spinach salad blend
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced
½ cup dried cranberries
½ red onion, thinly sliced
¼ pound applewood smoked bacon (about 4 or 5 slices), cooked and drained on paper towels, and crumbled
½ cup apple cider vinaigrette
Kosher salt and freshly ground
pepper
In a large salad bowl toss the spinach with the apple, cranberries, red onion, and bacon. Add the vinaigrette to taste and gently toss. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Apple Cider Vinaigrette
MAKES 1 CUP
¹⁄3 cup sugar
½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
¹⁄3 cup distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ cup canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground
black pepper
In a small bowl whisk together the sugar, dry mustard, distilled white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce until the sugar has dissolved. Slowly add the oil in a stream, whisking to emulsify. Refrigerate until ready to use.
PER SERVING: CALORIES 185 (104 from fat); FAT 12g (sat. 1g); CHOL 6mg; SODIUM 156mg; CARB 19g; FIBER 2g; PROTEIN 3g
6 ISSUES (1 YEAR)
