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Sunday, February 26, 2012

Southern Greens with Hot Bacon Vinaigrette



I'm not sure which is better: crisp salads or wilted salads. This salad offers wilted greens with some crunchy toasted nuts and bacon! It's gotta be good!

Other than cutting the quantities in half, I didn't do much tweaking of this recipe.

Southern Greens with Hot Bacon Vinaigrette
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3 thick-cut bacon slices
2 tbsp chopped shallots
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tbsp white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
8 oz. young greens, such as dandelion, collard or spinach (about 5 c)
1/2 c toasted pecan halves

If you haven't toasted them yet, toast the pecans by spreading them in a baking sheet and bake at 375°F about 7-10 minutes or until browned.

Cook bacon in large covered skillet over medium-high heat 10 minutes or until crisp. Place on paper towels to drain.


Drain all but about 2 tablespoons of drippings in skillet. Coarsely crumble bacon.


Add shallots and garlic to skillet.
Cook and stir over medium heat 2 minutes or until shallots are just softened.


Stir in vinegar and pepper.


Place greens in large bowl. Just before serving, toss with enough of the hot vinaigrette to lightly coat greens; toss quickly to mix and barely wilt greens.


Divide among 4 serving plates; sprinkle with crumbled bacon and pecans.


What I actually did, and what is imaged above, is one serving of greens in the bowl with about 1/4 of the dressing, nuts and bacon. I saved the rest of the salad ingredients, kept separate, in the refrigerator for the following day.

First, the salad rocks. It's really tasty. My greens should've been coursely chopped to make eating the salad a bit more manageable, but otherwise it was perfect. Saving the salad to eat the following day wasn't a horrible idea except for the fact that the solidified dressing sort of grossed me out. It was a container of solid white fat with tasty bits in it. I couldn't get with warming it and then dressing the greens which is, I realize, completely irrational.

Next time, I'll cut the quantity in half again and plan on having a big salad in one sitting.

Cost:
bacon: $1
shallots: $0.42
greens: $1.99
pecans: $1

Total: $4.41 or $1.10 for each of four servings.


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