I made this a while ago and jotted the notes down on my iPhone then forgot about it.  Hooray for randomly opening the notes app to make a note of something and seeing it!

This is a very simple recipe that creates a nice side salad, or even a meal if you want to top it with some grilled chicken breast. I prefer to use baby spinach simply because I like the smaller leaves and you don’t have to spend a lot of time washing or pulling the veins off.  However the recipe works the same for normal spinach.

Lastly, this recipe uses Garlic Chives instead of normal onion chives for a light garlic flavor without having to manage a more potent garlic bulb or minced garlic. 

Ingredients:

1 bag baby spinach, washed and dried
2 slices thick cut bacon (any type, but the thick cut part is important)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons sliced Garlic Chives
3 teaspoons white vinegar
4-5 large mushrooms, sliced
1 large egg
a pinch of sea salt

Hard boil the egg via your preferred method.  While it’s boiling, combine the mushrooms and spinach into a large bowl and toss lightly to spread the mushrooms around.

Now the best part!  Cook the bacon on medium to low heat in a small frying pan until the bacon is crisp. Make it crispier than you would normally make bacon for use by itself so that the fat renders. This will take longer than normal bacon because we’re using thick cut bacon, but the benefit to using thicker slices is that more fat will render into oil to comprise the base of our dressing.  You have to manage the heat here because we don’t want the oil to brown and spatter. It’s time consuming, but important.

Once the bacon is nice and crisp, remove it and dice it up.  Then add the bacon back to the oil along with the vinegar, sugar, Garlic Chives, and the pinch of salt. Bring the mixture to a boil/simmer for just a few minutes.  While that’s going, slice up that boiled egg crossways into big chunks.

Portion out the spinach to your liking, topping it with diced boiled egg. Lastly, add the dressing to taste while it’s hot.  You can alternatively leave the spinach in the big bowl and add the dressing and egg, tossing until the leaves are lightly coated and serve it that way.

You should end up with a nice, sweet/tangy/bacony dressing with just a hint of garlic.

Enjoy!