Warm Spinach Salad with Shiitakes, Corn, and Bacon
I never liked raw spinach that much until I started eating it from my sister’s huge garden in southern Maine, where she and her husband grow almost everything they eat—a year-round endeavor, thanks to lots of canning, freezing, and the smart use of greenhouses and the like. She even brought me spinach seeds so I could start growing it in my own community garden. My garden is a tiny fraction of the size of hers, but the spinach comes out of it just as tender and sweet. This recipe barely wilts the spinach, so it still has that fresh flavor, but helps compensate for the sturdier texture of supermarket spinach, if that’s what you need to use, by softening it slightly. If you have tender garden-fresh spinach, you can feel free to let the topping cool before adding it to the spinach for a cold salad instead.
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Put the spinach leaves in a serving bowl.
Step 2
Line a plate with paper towels. Pour the oil into a medium skillet over medium heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the bacon. Sauté until the bacon is crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer it to the paper towel–lined plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.
Step 3
Add the shiitakes to the skillet and cook just until they exude their liquid, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the corn and cook until it turns bright yellow, 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 4
Stir in 1 tablespoon of the vinegar. Taste and add more vinegar if desired, plus salt and a generous amount of black pepper.
Step 5
Pour the hot mushroom and corn mixture over the spinach in the serving bowl and toss to combine thoroughly. Sprinkle the bacon pieces on top, and eat.
