Spinach with Bacon

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A remarkable number of green-leaved vegetables work very well with bacon. One of my favorite salads is based entirely on that premise. Here we put together baby spinach leaves, avocado and back bacon to produce a tasty and refreshing starter.

Start by cutting a ripe avocado in half and removing the stone and skin. An easy way to remove the stone is to chop into it with a sharp knife, then twist it out of the fruit. Mind your fingers!

Slice the avocado and quickly toss it in some vinaigrette to maintain its color, as well as add some flavor. A quick vinaigrette would be 1 part lemon juice to 3 parts oil plus a little salt.  Whisk before using, or shake well in a screw-top jar.

Now cut a garlic clove in half and dip the cut sides into a little salt. Rub this round the inside of the bowl you intend to use for serving the salad, then discard the garlic.

Put the avocado in the bowl, add around 250 grams of baby spinach leaves, stalks included, and mix well.

Next make some croutons. Simply cut a slice of bread into cubes and fry these in some olive oil, turning frequently, until they are crisp and golden all over. Remove them from the pan and allow them to cool on a bed of paper towel.

You need about 175 grams of bacon, which will work out to be around 6 rashers. Cut these into 5 cm strips and fry in the same pan that you used for the croutons. Cook through and then remove the bacon from the pan, allowing it to cool slightly before adding it to the salad. It should still be warm, but hot bacon will start to cook the spinach, which will in turn spill water, ruining your salad.

Finally add a dash of  balsamic or cider vinegar to the pan and de-glaze it by swirling it round a bit. Pour the resulting liquid over the salad and toss immediately. Garnish the end result with the croutons.

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