Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

This spinach salad with black-eyed peas is a twist on one of my favorite culinary traditions: serving beans and greens on New Year's Day. Greens represent paper money and beans symbolize coins. Here I present these ingredients in salad form, which is a great delivery system for hot bacon dressing.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 30 mins
• Calories: 430 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons water
• ½ cup minced onion
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
• ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
• ½ pound sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips
• ⅓ cup bacon drippings
• 1 pound baby spinach leaves
• 12 white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Cook and stir bacon with 1/4 cup vegetable in a skillet over medium heat until bacon is browned and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour bacon into a strainer set over a bowl, reserving 1/3 cup of bacon drippings.

Step 2

Return skillet to medium heat. Stir onions and salt into the skillet; cook and stir until onions are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant and golden, 1 minute.

Step 3

Stir cider vinegar, rice vinegar, 1/2 cup water, sugar, and Dijon mustard into onion mixture. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer.

Step 4

Whisk 2 teaspoons water and cornstarch in a bowl. Gradually pour cornstarch mixture into onion mixture and whisk until thickened. 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low.

Step 5

Drizzle reserved 1/3 cup bacon drippings into onion mixture, whisking constantly. Add cooked bacon and stir to combine. Season with cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper to taste.

Step 6

Combine spinach, black-eyed peas, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes in a large bowl; toss to combine. Drizzle hot bacon dressing over spinach mixture; toss quickly and serve immediately.