Spinach, Portabella, Bacon & Blue Cheese In Walnut Dressing

Total Time: 21 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 6 mins

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup walnuts (chopped)
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (see note #3)
• 1 teaspoon garlic (minced)
• 1 teaspoon shallot (minced)
• 1/4 cup walnuts (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
• 4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
• 2 cups portabella mushrooms (sliced)
• 6 slices bacon (cooked crisp & crumbled)
• 1/2 cup blue cheese (crumbled, may use the other british variety of stilton)

Recipe

• 1 for dressing: whisk together all ingredients. season w/salt + pepper as desired & set aside.
• 2 for salads:.
• 3 preheat oven to 375°f toss 1/4 cup walnuts w/1 tsp powd sugar. place on baking sheet & bake 6-8 min, stirring occ. watch carefully to avoid burning. set aside to cool.
• 4 combine spinach, sliced mushrooms & crumbled bacon in a lrg bowl. add dressing & toss to coat.
• 5 divide mixture onto 6 salad plates & sprinkle w/toasted walnuts + crumbled blue cheese. serve immediately.
• 6 note #1: i frankly did not notice that much of a distinction between the plain walnuts mixed w/the dressing & the toasted & slightly sweetened walnuts atop the salad. for that reason, i will likely just combine the 1/2 cup walnuts w/the dressing, add the tsp of powd sugar for a hint of sweetness & eliminate the toasting step.
• 7 note #2: as an option, feel free to sub pecans in this recipe or even use pine nuts which i think work very well w/spinach salads.
• 8 note #3: for those of you (like me) who do not keep red wine vinegar in your pantry, make your own using a 1:3 ratio. for this recipe using 1/4 cup, that would be 1 tbsp red wine mixed w/3 tbsp vinegar. too easy, huh?