Recipes Favorites: Spinach Salad Recipe with Bacon and Feta

(Updated and added to Recipe Favorites - March 2009) I think spinach salad is a beautiful thing. Not only does it look stunning, in this coral-colored plate, but spinach is one of The World's Healthiest Foods. In fact, if you check that link you'll find TWHF site claims "Calorie for calorie, leafy green vegetables like spinach provide more nutrients than any other food." I think that should get your attention.

The South Beach Diet doesn't encourage eating bacon because of the saturated fat, and if that's something you feel strongly about, I advise substituting Canadian Bacon in this salad, crisping it a bit in the olive oil. I've made the salad that way and it was great. But this time I used just one strip of pre-cooked bacon, crisped it a bit in the pan and then blotted the bacon with a paper towel. Since the pre-cooked bacon only has three grams of fat per strip to begin with, I'm sure there wasn't more than a gram of fat left in the bacon I consumed, a number I'm not going to get too worried about. Lots of spinach salads use the bacon fat in the dressing, but in this one the dressing is made with olive oil, so I think this is a pretty healthful, nutritious salad, adapted just a bit from one I found on RecipeZaar. There it was called Spinach Salad for One, but you can easily increase the recipe to make as many servings as you want.

Spinach Salad Recipe with Bacon and Feta
(one serving, can be increased as desired. Recipe adapted from this spinach salad found on RecipeZaar.)

Two large handfuls fresh spinach, washed and dried
1 strip pre-cooked bacon, cut in thin crosswise strips (I use the pre-cooked bacon that needs refrigeration)
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/8 tsp. garlic puree or crushed fresh garlic
1 T crumbled Feta cheese

Put spinach into large bowl, big enough to toss salad in. Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and garlic puree in small bowl and wisk together.

Heat small 8-inch frying pan, add bacon and cook 2-3 minutes, until bacon crisps and bacon fat bubbles up on top of bacon. Remove pan from heat and blot bacon with paper towel to remove fat.

Put pan back on heat, add oil-vinegar-garlic combination and heat until just starting to bubble, then pour immediately over spinach and toss.

Arrange salad on serving plate, crumble feta over, and serve.

South Beach Suggestions:

I hope the bacon police won't come after me if I say I would happily eat this salad for any phase of the South Beach Diet. You could eat this for phase one with something like Very Greek Grilled Chicken or Sauteed Tilapia with Parmesan Crust. For phase two or three it would taste great with Baked Penne with Sausage (made with Dreamfields pasta) or Chicken with Green Chiles and Cheese.

More Spinach Salad:
(some salads may not be South Beach Diet friendly, check ingredients)
Spinach Salad with Warm Ginger Vinaigrette from Kalyn's Kitchen
Balsamic Spinach Salad with Mushrooms, Onions, and Feta from Kalyn's Kitchen
Spinach and Sorrel Chopped Salad with Pecans and Goat Cheese from Kalyn's Kitchen
Strawberry and Spinach Salad from Je Mange le Ville
Spinach Fig Salad from Cooking with Amy
Spinach and Grapefruit Salad with Ginger Vinaigrette from Vanesscipies
Salad of Peas, Spinach, Mint, and Warm Goat Cheese Crostini from Cook(almost) Anything At Least Once

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