A great, hearty and actually tasty salad of big, greedy meats and iron-rich spinach. Delicious. I love big flavours and certainly can never get excited about dainty wee salads of iceberg, perhaps with fricasse. The worst offenses are those that have fruit in too. It is a rare salad that can pull off slices of orange or, shudder, grapefruit. I am not ruling them out completely – they’ve just never, up to this point, hit the spot for me.
No – for me and certainly for the boys I cook for salads with a punch are key. This is one of those. Salty, crunchy bacon, juicy, pork intense sausage, irony spinach, sharp, sweet red onion and punchy mushroom. A rich, unctuous balsamic vinegar based dressing – sticky and luxurious. Chilli coming in and giving you a bit of a hit, flirting with the sweetness of the onion and the balsamic vinegar. If I personified this salad it would be a rugby player, for shizzle.
No – for me and certainly for the boys I cook for salads with a punch are key. This is one of those. Salty, crunchy bacon, juicy, pork intense sausage, irony spinach, sharp, sweet red onion and punchy mushroom. A rich, unctuous balsamic vinegar based dressing – sticky and luxurious. Chilli coming in and giving you a bit of a hit, flirting with the sweetness of the onion and the balsamic vinegar. If I personified this salad it would be a rugby player, for shizzle.
Recipe
Ingredients (Serves 2):
6 handfuls baby spinach leaves, washed and shaken dry
200g unsmoked back bacon, chopped into 1 inch chunks
1 red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 good quality pork sausages, chopped into 1 inch chunks
200g small cap mushrooms
salt and pepper
Squeeze of lemon juice
For the dressing:
Equal quantities of white wine vinegar and a good quality balsamic vinegar (if you can get smoked garlic flavour do – its perfect for this recipe)
A large glug of olive oil- About the same amount as the two vinegars combined
1 heaped teaspoon of dijon mustard
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon of whole grain mustard
salt and pepper
Method:
1. Heat some oil in a pan to medium heat and saute the red onion until limp and caramelised – about 10-12 minutes. About 3 minutes before the end chuck in the garlic and saute.
2. While the onion is cooking, heat some vegetable oil in another large frying pan. Once hot add the bacon and fry until crispy. Remove from the heat and place in a bowl until later.
3. In the same pan and oil, add the mushrooms and sausage and saute until cooked and golden, about 5-6 minutes. Add back in the bacon and stir to combine and reheat. Squeeze in some lemon juice to season the mushroom – about that of half a lemon.
4. To make the dressing: Add all the ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine thoroughly. Taste to test for seasoning. Add more if needed. Either place this in a microwave afterwards and heat for 20 seconds, or whisk in a metal bowl over a pan of boiling water to warm the dressing.
5. Place the salad leaves in a large bowl or dish. Add the bacon, sausage, onion and mushrooms and mix in. Drizzle over the dressing as soon as you are ready to serve. Toss to combine. Serve immediately.
Ingredients (Serves 2):
6 handfuls baby spinach leaves, washed and shaken dry
200g unsmoked back bacon, chopped into 1 inch chunks
1 red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 good quality pork sausages, chopped into 1 inch chunks
200g small cap mushrooms
salt and pepper
Squeeze of lemon juice
For the dressing:
Equal quantities of white wine vinegar and a good quality balsamic vinegar (if you can get smoked garlic flavour do – its perfect for this recipe)
A large glug of olive oil- About the same amount as the two vinegars combined
1 heaped teaspoon of dijon mustard
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon of whole grain mustard
salt and pepper
Method:
1. Heat some oil in a pan to medium heat and saute the red onion until limp and caramelised – about 10-12 minutes. About 3 minutes before the end chuck in the garlic and saute.
2. While the onion is cooking, heat some vegetable oil in another large frying pan. Once hot add the bacon and fry until crispy. Remove from the heat and place in a bowl until later.
3. In the same pan and oil, add the mushrooms and sausage and saute until cooked and golden, about 5-6 minutes. Add back in the bacon and stir to combine and reheat. Squeeze in some lemon juice to season the mushroom – about that of half a lemon.
4. To make the dressing: Add all the ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine thoroughly. Taste to test for seasoning. Add more if needed. Either place this in a microwave afterwards and heat for 20 seconds, or whisk in a metal bowl over a pan of boiling water to warm the dressing.
5. Place the salad leaves in a large bowl or dish. Add the bacon, sausage, onion and mushrooms and mix in. Drizzle over the dressing as soon as you are ready to serve. Toss to combine. Serve immediately.
Sauteed mushrooms!
caramelising red onion
Mix up the bloke foods…
close up. Little squeal of glee? Yeah….
mixing in with the greens
