Receta Spinach Salad with Mozzarella, Pears, Pine Nuts and a Warm Honey, Mustard and Bacon Dressing
Spinach Salad with Mozzarella, Pears, Pine Nuts and a Warm Honey, Mustard and Bacon Dressing
I just love this combination of ingredients; I could honestly eat this salad for days on end and be happy. Pine nuts too pricey (YES!!) then substitute with walnuts; toasted walnuts are a new-found favorite of mine and would be great too.
Spinach salad with pears and bacon was a no-brainer. Though not my home cured version of bacon (sob), I had some good bacon in the freezer and even if I prefer my Maple Bourbon Bacon on an ongoing basis, I wasn’t going to pitch a perfectly good pound of pork. Bacon means some bacon fat so I decided to try combining components of my favorites for spinach; elements of a honey mustard dressing with those of a warm bacon dressing and I thought it was sounding good. It was late, I hadn’t had lunch so sometimes you never know…sounds good could just mean I was REALLY hungry! I was certainly putting together a lot of familiar components and heading in a very familiar direction. Should I officially christen this an Italian Spinach Salad?
I did combine olive oil with the bacon fat too…while not on a list for the healthiest of salad dressings, I thought that at least helped. I’m also using pine nuts, my very last precious cache of them from happier times. When I could afford them. Before their price started to rival gold. I hear it’s due to a shortage though I see plenty of them; they are just double the price I used to pay (and they were already a bit pricier than other nuts). I’m not anxious to pop $20 for a bag of them at my local Costco so I’m playing a waiting game though I read the other day it might be a long wait. Like forever. If you don’t have pine nuts and don’t want to take out a 2nd mortgage on your home, then toast some pecans or walnuts; that’s what I’ll be doing in the future too!
This was a simple salad with the freshest of ingredients and I’m excited to be dining outdoors tonight where my garden is in the throes of gloriousness. So I thought I would share some of that with you today. Wish you could join me!
Spinach Salad with Mozzarella, Pears, Pine Nuts and a Warm Honey, Mustard and Bacon Dressing
Spinach and pears are combined with fresh mozzarella and pine nuts for a new take on an old classic.
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 4 cups Spinach, washed and dried
- 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
- 8 oz. Fresh Mozzarella, diced
- 4 slices Bacon, diced
- 2 Pears, sliced
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
- For the Dressing:!
- 1/4 cup bacon drippings
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
- 4 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Champagne Vinegar
- 3 Tbsp Honey
- 1 tsp stone ground mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Put spinach leaves and red onion slices in a bowl.
Mix vinegars, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper together. Add bacon drippings and oil and whisk until blended.
Toss the ingredients in the bowl with some dressing to lightly cover. Salt and pepper to taste.
Plate each serving and arrange pears on top.
Add mozzarella, bacon and pine nuts to each serving.
Drizzle with additional dressing.
Notes
This makes additional dressing than what will be required for 4 servings. Serve with any fresh salad.
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http://www.creative-culinary.com/spinach-salad-mozarella-pears-and-bacon/
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