Spinach Salad

I truly believe the key to all good salads are crisp greens. Too often Spinach salad presents as a wilted salad with stringy stems….yuck!

The technique described below of thoroughly washing, then spinning dry, then wrapping in a clean tea towel and putting it in the fridge will produce crisp greens every time. I do the same thing for all my different kinds of lettuce, but the effect is dramatic with Romaine.

The boiled egg added to the Spinach salad mixes with the dressing to provide a wonderful melange.

Enjoy!

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Serves

Ingredients

6 Cups raw spinach
4 - 6 strips of bacon (fried until just crisp, drained on paper towels and then crumbled)
1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced (white would do, but I prefer the flavour of the cremini)
1 boiled egg, diced (see )
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup grated Asiago cheese (optional)

Dressing

5 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 Tbsp maple syrup (could substitute with 1/2 tsp granulated sugar)
1/4 Tsp salt (the bacon adds saltiness, so little salt is needed)
1/2 - 1 Tsp Dijon or your favourite good mustard
good grinding of fresh pepper

Directions


Remove the stems and part of the vein of the spinach leaves by pinching the leaf sides together by the base of the stem and gently pulling. The stem and part of the vein will come off and can be discarded. Some people do not like to do this step, because it can be a little time consuming, but the finished product is superior when the stems are removed.

Thoroughly wash the spinach and then spin it dry or dry it in a tea towel. Then put all the spinach on a clean tea towel and wrap it up and put it in the fridge for about half and hour. This wicks moisture away from the leaves and crisps them up.

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together. I like to mix them using my Bullet hand blender.

Place the crisped spinach in a large salad bowl. Top with the crumbled bacon, mushrooms, dried cranberries, diced boiled egg and Asiago cheese (if using).

Toss with the dressing just before serving.
Variation

Sometimes, I fry the mushroom and some onion in a little olive oil until they are soft and golden and then deglaze the pan with a little balsamic vinegar. I omit the raw mushrooms from the salad and add the warm mushrooms just before serving.

Boiled Eggs

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Ingredients

large eggs

Directions


Bring a pot of water to boil.

Prick the large side of an egg with an egg piercer or thumb tack or push pin. Pricking the egg lets air escape while it is cooking.

Put the egg on a large spoon and gently place in the water. Immediately swirl the egg in the water. This is at the start of the cooking process and so will secure the yolk in the middle of the boiled egg, which is nice for certain recipes. Continue to add eggs to the pot, swirling each one as it is added. Boil the eggs for 12 minutes.

Drain the eggs, leave them in the pot and immediately cover them with cold water. I like to add a few ice cubes to the water to really chill the hot eggs. This prevents the greying (overcooking) from appearing along the edge between the yolk and white.

If I have made a few boiled eggs to use for salads, sandwiches or deviled eggs and I am not using them all at once, I take a pencil and write the date they were boiled on the outside of the shell. They should be refrigerated within two hours of boiling. They can last 6 days in the fridge.