Remember the warm spinach salad? That hot bacon dressing, crumbles of blue cheese, crunchy nuts and those canned orange slices, all mounded over a bed of slightly wilted spinach?
I have fond memories of those now pretty dated creations. My aunt used to take me to the mall restaurant for special occasions, and since she was my favorite relative I grew up loving those salads. And I was so proud of loving a “health food” like spinach. Then again, no matter how healthy the spinach was, I’m willing to bet the rest of those ingredients weren’t doing me any favors.
So with spring here — and spinach being more abundant than ever — I decided to recreate that spinach salad, with some updates and tweaks to improve the nutrient profile.
I swapped out the canned oranges (which usually are packed in a light syrup) for fresh oranges that are roasted at high heat just long enough to coax out the natural sweetness and add depth of flavor. Instead of using hot bacon grease for the warmth, I let the roasted oranges (and sweet shallot) do the mild wilting. (You can let the roasted elements completely cool if you’d prefer the spinach not wilt at all).
Blue cheese and bacon are added in tiny quantities to keep the saturated fat content in check, but mixing it into the dressing means their flavor impact is maximized. Using avocado is a great trick for bringing in the silky creaminess that cheese usually offers while adding some fiber and healthier fats.
The result is a fresher, healthier version of that ’70s salad that made me fall in love with the now-ubiquitous baby spinach in the first place.