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.

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.

Per Serving: 695 calories; protein 23.4g; carbohydrates 15.1g; fat 61g; cholesterol 52.5mg; sodium 1298.6mg.