Spinach-Gorganzola Salad

A delicious family recipe that serves up well with BBQ'd dishes. A spinach salad with a hot bacon dressing goes will with crumbled gorgonzola cheese and pine nuts. Well worth the effort to make.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 50 mins
• Calories: 695 Calories

Ingredients

• ¼ cup pine nuts
• salt and pepper to taste
• ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 1 pound thickly sliced honey-smoked bacon
• 2 bunches baby spinach leaves
• 1 medium red onion, quartered and thinly sliced

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, mustard, salt and pepper to make the dressing. Set aside.

Step 2

Place the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir for a few minutes, just until they are fragrant and lightly toasted. Set aside to cool.

Step 3

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until evenly browned and crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain. Reserve a thin layer of bacon grease in the pan. Stir in about 1/4 cup of the dressing, and turn the heat to medium. Add the onions; cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 20 minutes.

Step 4

Reduce the heat to low, and crumble the bacon into the pan. Stir in the remaining dressing, and heat through.

Step 5

Place the spinach in a large bowl. Pour the warmed dressing with bacon and onion over the spinach, then sprinkle with pine nuts and gorgonzola cheese.