Salad Of Baby Spinach, Crispy Bacon And Cheese Croutons

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1/2 loaf crusty sourdough bread (14.5-ounce)
• 2 ounces butter
• 1 ounce sharp cheddar cheese or 1 dry monterey jack cheese, finely shredded
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 6 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 2 1/2 g roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 8 cups fresh baby spinach, washed and stems removed
• 8 slices bacon
• 12 cherry tomatoes, halve

Recipe

• 1 to prepare the cheese croutons: preheat the oven to 400°f/205°c using a serrated bread knife, remove the crusts from the sourdough bread then tear or cut the bread into 1-inch/2.5-cm pieces.
• 2 place the bread pieces on a baking sheet. toast the bread in the oven for 8 minutes or until it is dry and crisp, stirring the bread pieces halfway through baking to ensure they cook evenly.
• 3 melt the butter in a heavy based large sauté pan over a medium heat. add the croutons and toss to coat with the butter. arrange the butter-coated croutons closely together but in a single layer on the same baking sheet.
• 4 sprinkle the cheese generously over the croutons and return to the oven for about 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the croutons are golden. remove the croutons from the oven and set aside until cool.
• 5 to prepare the vinaigrette dressing: place the vinegar in a medium sized bowl. slowly add the oil whilst constantly whisking to blend. whisk in the parsley. season the vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper.
• 6 to prepare the crispy bacon and serve the salad:.
• 7 preheat a grill pan or griddle over moderate heat and grill the bacon about 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until nice and crisp. transfer the bacon to paper towels.
• 8 meanwhile, toss the baby spinach leaves in a large bowl with enough vinaigrette to coat. season the salad to taste with salt and pepper. divide the salad among 4 serving plates. place the bacon over the salads. garnish the salads with the cherry tomatoes and croutons, and serve.