Warm Bacon-and-Tomato Vinaigrette Spinach Salad with Gorgonzola

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A steakhouse-style Italian spinach salad where the dressing is built right in the skillet: bacon fat, shallot, blistered cherry tomatoes and red wine vinegar, poured over baby spinach so the leaves wilt just barely. Crumbled gorgonzola, jammy eggs and crisp bacon finish it. Dress it at the last second — the whole point is the contrast between hot dressing and cool, raw spinach.

Ingredients

• 10 oz baby spinach, washed and very well dried
• 4 large eggs
• 4 oz gorgonzola dolce or crumbled gorgonzola
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced paper-thin
• freshly cracked black pepper

• 6 oz thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 10 oz cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp honey or light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, if needed
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste

Instructions

1. Cook the eggs first so they have time to cool: bring a small saucepan of water to a rolling boil, lower the eggs in with a spoon, and cook 8 minutes for jammy centers (9 1/2 minutes if you prefer them fully set). Transfer to a bowl of ice water for 5 minutes, then peel and quarter. Set aside.
2. Soak the sliced red onion in a small bowl of cold water for 10 minutes to tame its bite, then drain well and pat dry.
3. Pile the spinach in a very wide, shallow serving bowl (a wide bowl means the hot dressing reaches more leaves). Keep it cool and dry until the last minute.
4. Put the bacon in a cold 10- or 12-inch skillet and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring every couple of minutes, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the fat has rendered and the bacon is deep brown and crisp. Lift the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon.
5. Pour off and reserve the fat, then return 1/4 cup of it to the skillet. If you have less than 1/4 cup, top it up with olive oil. Lower the heat to medium-low.
6. Add the shallot and cook 1 to 2 minutes until softened and fragrant, then add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more — do not let it brown.
7. Add the halved tomatoes and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, pressing about a third of them with a spoon so they release their juices, until they are slumped and blistered but some still hold their shape.
8. Whisk in the vinegar, Dijon and honey and let the dressing bubble for 45 seconds, scraping the pan. Taste it: it should be sharp, salty and just barely sweet. Adjust with a splash more vinegar or a pinch of salt.
9. Immediately pour the hot dressing over the spinach and toss quickly with tongs for about 15 seconds — the leaves should glisten and half-wilt, not collapse.
10. Scatter on the gorgonzola, crisp bacon, drained red onion and quartered eggs. Finish with a generous amount of cracked black pepper and serve right away, while the bowl is still warm.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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