Fresh Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
The dressing is what really makes this salad delicious!
The dressing is what really makes this salad delicious!
- 1 small red onion thinly sliced
- 1 lb fresh spinach (baby spinach is best)
- 3 hard-cooked eggs finely chopped
- 6 slices bacon crisp cooked, drained and crumbled
- 3 large fresh mushrooms sliced (i use more mushrooms)
- parmesan cheese, to taste grated
- croutons
- dressing (recipe follows)
- 1-2 tablespoons onion minced
- 1 c vegetable oil
- 1/3 c vinegar (i use rice vinegar)
- 1/3 c sugar
- 1 t prepared mustard (i use dijon or nathans mustard)
- 2 t poppy seed
- 1/2 t salt
- 1/2 t pepper
- Carbohydrate 9.99939597847961 g
- Cholesterol 120.173608019313 mg
- Fat 33.7102032037831 g
- Fiber 2.4909036639926 g
- Protein 9.0375727937145 g
- Saturated Fat 5.79258436394108 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (194g)
- Sodium 320.267852729604 mg
- Sugar 7.50849231448701 g
- Trans Fat 1.9374665885758 g
- Calories 373 calories
Step-by-step
- Wash and dry spinach, and toss with eggs, bacon, mushrooms, red onion slices and Parmesan.
- Combine dressing ingredients.
- Pass croutons and dressing for each person to dress their individual salad at serving time.
Standard green salads rely on a simple three-to-one oil and acid ratio tossed straight from a jar. This formulation demands more rigor. Pouring heavy poppy seed dressing directly onto raw greens causes immediate deflation. Spinach lacks the rigid cellular structure of romaine or iceberg. Unemulsified oil weighs down tender baby leaves instantly. Whisk the vegetable oil, rice vinegar, sugar, minced onion, Dijon mustard, poppy seeds, salt, and pepper in a bowl until the sugar fully dissolves. Blending the mustard thoroughly with the vinegar creates a stable suspension before the oil goes in. If the oil separates into oily pools, the dressing ruins the greens on contact. Wash the spinach in ice-cold water. Spin it completely dry inside a mesh salad spinner for at least forty rotations. Excess moisture blocks the coating action of the dressing entirely. Toss the spinach, chopped hard-cooked eggs, crumbled crisp bacon, sliced mushrooms, and thinly sliced red onion just before eating. Pass the croutons and dressing separately at the table. Individual plating prevents premature sogginess. Serve this dish alongside roasted poultry or grilled pork chops to balance the rich, sweet dressing.
