Baby Spinach Pine Nut Salad With Creamy Bacon Dressing Recipes

ROAST PUMPKIN, SPINACH AND FETA SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 220C/430F (standard) or 200C/390F (fan/convection).
• Toss pumpkin with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on baking tray, bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, flip, then bake for a further 7 - 10 minutes until golden but not mushy. (Note 3) Loosen pumpkin with egg flip (it can adhere as it cools), then if serving salad at room temperature, leave to cool.
• Shake Dressing in a jar. Taste and adjust to taste. I like it a bit sharp because it balances out the flavours in this salad.
• Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until light golden and it smells nutty. Remove pine nuts from skillet as soon as it's ready.
• Place Spinach in a bowl. Drizzle with a bit of dressing then toss.
• Add pumpkin, just a bit of feta and pine nuts, then GENTLY BRIEFLY toss just to disperse the feta. (If you toss vigorously, the feta can make it look messy).
• Transfer to serving plate. Sprinkle over remaining feta and pine nuts. Just before serving, drizzle with remaining dressing (dressing doesn't stay on baby spinach well, so worth drizzling at end). Serve!

BABY SPINACH & PINE NUT SALAD WITH CREAMY BACON DRESSING

Steps:

• FOR THE DRESSING.
• Cook the bacon in a non stick pan over a high heat for about 5 minutes or until crispy.
• Place the bacon, mayonnaise and water in a food processor and process until the bacon is finely chopped.
• FOR THE SALAD.
• Place the eggs in a saucepan of cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 7 minutes.
• Rinse the eggs under cold water, peel and cut into wedges.
• In the pan you used to cook the bacon, cook the pinenuts over a medium/high heat for 1-2 minutes until toasted- beware they burn easily.
• TO SERVE.
• Place the spinach on a serving plate, scatter with the pine nuts and egg wedges.
• Drizzle with the dressing.

FRESH STRAWBERRY BALSAMIC VINEGAR

Steps:

• Combine strawberries and sugar in a food processor or blender and puree until runny. It's okay to have some chunks.
• Transfer strawberry mixture into a quart jar and pour in vinegar. Top jar with a lid and shake well.
• Let strawberry infusion stand for an hour or so.
• Shake vinegar once again and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a pint jar. It will take about 10 minutes to completely drip through.Discard the strawberry solids.
• Your strawberry vinegar is now ready to use or you can cover the jar with a lid and store, refrigerated, for a few weeks.

SPINACH, BACON AND PINE NUT PASTA

Steps:

• Whilst cooking the pasta, grate the lemon zest and mix with the lemon juice and olive oil and season.
• Fry the bacon (no oil should be necessary) until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
• Add the pine nuts to the pan with bacon and stir until lightly toasted.
• Now drain the pasta and fold in the spinach allowing it to wilt in the heat.
• Then stir in the lemon dressing, bacon and nuts and seasoning to taste (drizzle with oil and sprinkle with pepper).

BABY SPINACH SALAD WITH PEANUT DRESSING

Steps:

• Place the dressing ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
• In a large bowl toss together the baby spinach and shredded carrots. Add half of the peanut dressing and toss to coat the greens; add more dressing sparingly as needed.
• Divide between chilled salad plates and garnish each serving with a sprinkling of peanuts, chow mein noodles, and slivered pepper.

ROAST PUMPKIN SALAD WITH FETA, PINE NUTS & BABY SPINACH SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius (fan-forced).
• Chop the pumpkin into small slices or chunks and remove the skin.
• Drizzle a flat baking tray with the olive oil, add the pumpkin pieces and season with salt and pepper.
• Cook for 20-25 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender (but not too soft). Set aside.
• Place the pine nuts into a small frying pan over low/medium heat. Cook, while stirring regularly, until lightly golden (keep a close eye on them as they can easily burn). Set aside.
• Layer the baby spinach, pumpkin, pine nuts and feta cheese in a serving bowl or dish.
• To make the dressing, place the honey, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper into a small bowl and whisk with the fork until combined.
• Pour the dressing over the salad, toss to combine and serve immediately.

SIMPLE SPINACH SALAD

Steps:

• Add dressing ingredients to a medium bowl. Whisk to emulsify.
• Add spinach to a large bowl.
• Toss with the salad dressing.
• Top with toasted pine nuts and shaved Parmesan cheese. Season with extra black pepper, if desired.

BABY SPINACH SALAD

Steps:

• Whisk together the olive oil and the lemon juice.
• Toss the spinach in a large serving bowl with the olives and the combined olive oil and lemon juice.
• Season the salad with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

CREAMY SPINACH AND BACON SALAD

Steps:

• Cook bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels.
• While bacon is cooking, mince garlic and mash to a paste with a pinch salt. Whisk together oil, sour cream, lemon juice, sugar, and garlic paste in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add spinach and crumble bacon over it. Toss with cheese and dressing.