Bacon Asparagus Spinach Salad

with corn, peas, mushrooms and a hot bacon dressing

With crisp tender roasted asparagus, salty crunchy bacon, earthy mushrooms, sweet corn and spring peas and a tangy hot bacon dressing, this lovely salad is such a wonderful way to welcome spring!

Last summer I finally mastered hot bacon dressing and I totally fell in love with the classic spinach salad with hot bacon dressing. But then I got to thinking: what if I added some other flavors to the classic spinach salad, like roasted asparagus (my favorite spring veggie!), corn and peas? And while I was roasting asparagus and cooking up bacon, I decided to do that fancy thing where you wrap the bacon around the asparagus spears and use that to add visual appeal to my salad. I think salads are so much more enjoyable to eat when they’re beautiful.

And it was quite enjoyable! It feels a little like I’m cheating on this post because I actually made this salad and photographed it last summer, but I didn’t get around to blogging it in asparagus season, so now that winter is almost over (I say almost because we DO still have snow on the ground), it’s asparagus time! I don’t have any fresh garden asparagus yet … it’ll be a while before all the snow melts off my mom and dad’s asparagus bed (they just got 15 inches last week again!), but I’m totally anxious to revel in my beloved asparagus. I might have to break down and buy some …

We’ll see. Right now I’m trying to hold off on purchasing asparagus because once it starts, I’ll most likely have asparagus coming out of my ears.

The thing that makes me happiest about posting this is the flowers in the background of one of the photos. I can’t wait for flowers! Soon, soon …

Bacon Asparagus Spinach Salad

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 package bacon

For the hot bacon dressing:

• 3 Tablespoons rendered bacon fat
• 3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

For the salad:

• 4 slices of the bacon, chopped
• 12 – 16 oz. asparagus
• 4 oz. frozen peas
• 4 oz. frozen corn
• 4 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 6 oz. fresh spinach leaves
• 1 – 2 Tablespoons fresh herbs (tarragon, basil, dill, mint), chopped fine
• Optional extras: crumbled feta or shredded asiago cheese, hard boiled egg, chopped, toasted pecans

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Instructions

1. Reserve 2 – 4 strips of bacon, then bake the rest of the package of bacon on a silicone baking mat lining a baking sheet with lip at 350 for about 30 minutes or until done to your liking. Let cool slightly, then pour the rendered bacon fat into a jar and increase the heat in the oven to 400 F.
2. To make the bacon wrapped asparagus garnish for the salads, tear the reserved strips in half lengthwise and wrap each strip around 2 – 5 asparagus spears. Chop the rest of the asparagus into 1-2 inch chunks, then toss the asparagus pieces in 1/2 Tablespoon of bacon fat. Sprinkle with Red Robin Seasoning (or your favorite seasoned salt) and Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute (or Mrs. Dash) and spread. Spread the asparagus pieces in a single layer on the bacon baking sheet and add the bacon wrapped spears on the side or top. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the asparagus is crisp tender and bright green.
3. While the asparagus is baking, make the dressing by whisking together the dressing ingredients and then prep the rest of the ingredients.
4. When the asparagus is done, pour the asparagus pieces into a large mixing or salad bowl and toss with the frozen peas and corn. (This stops the asparagus from cooking further and also thaws out the frozen peas and corn.) Toss with the mushrooms, spinach, and herbs.
5. When ready to serve: fill individual salad plates with the salad mixture and top with one of the bacon wrapped asparagus spear garnishes. Drizzle with the warm bacon dressing and enjoy!

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Notes

Note that this recipe does not use all of the bacon cooked in step 1. Save the rest of the bacon for another use. I like to chop it up, put it in a little container and freeze it, then thaw a bit whenever I want a sprinkle of bacon on something.

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

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