Warm Salad With Crisped Spinach And Quail Food

WARM SPINACH SALAD

Steps:

• Cook 1 sliced red onion in 1/4 cup olive oil until golden. Add 2 cups sliced mushrooms and cook until brown; season with salt. Off the heat, stir in 1/2 cup torn parsley, 10 ounces spinach and the juice of 1 lemon. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup feta.

WILTED SPINACH SALAD WITH HOT BACON DRESSING

Steps:

• Place the spinach in a large bowl and leave at room temperature. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Use a slotted spoon to gently lower the eggs into the water. Boil until both the whites and yolks are set (hard-boiled), about 10 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl filled with ice water and cool completely. Once cool, peel the eggs and cut each into quarters.
• Meanwhile, put the bacon in a large skillet and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Remove half of the bacon fat to a small bowl and reserve.
• Return the skillet and remaining bacon fat to medium heat. Add the mushrooms, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper to the same skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour in the reserved bacon fat, vinegar, mustard and honey and whisk until smooth and emulsified. Taste and season with more salt and pepper.
• Pour the hot bacon dressing over the spinach and toss until evenly coated and slightly wilted. Transfer to a platter and top with the eggs, red onion and reserved bacon.

WARM SPINACH SALAD

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add bacon to skillet and brown, reserve the crispy bacon bits and add the shallots and garlic to the pan. Cook 3 to 4 minutes then deglaze the pan with vinegar, turn spinach into pan and wilt down a bit but do not fully cook the spinach, just give it a few turns with tongs. Season the greens with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Place spinach on a serving dish and top with quartered eggs, shavings of cheese and reserved bacon bits.

WARM SPINACH SALAD WITH PANCETTA DRESSING

Steps:

• Combine the spinach and red onions in a large bowl.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering. Add the mushrooms and salt to taste, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until they start to release their moisture and begin to shrink, 2 to 3 minutes. Now let the mushrooms cook undisturbed until their liquid evaporates and they have turned deep golden brown on one side, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir and continue cooking until nicely browned on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes more. With a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms from the pan and toss with the spinach and onions.
• In a separate, heavy-bottomed saucepan, cook the pancetta over medium-low heat until dark and crispy, about 15 minutes. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and reserve.
• To the rendered fat in the pan, add the vinegar, honey and mustard. Bring to a boil and whisk to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and then pour the warm dressing over the spinach, mushrooms and onions. Add the reserved pancetta and toss to distribute the heat and dressing.
• Serve in a salad bowl, garnished with pine nuts.

WARM SPINACH SALAD WITH PEPPERS AND COTIJA CHEESE

Steps:

• Clean spinach and cut off most of stems.
• Crumble Cotija cheese with a fork and set aside to be used as garnish later.
• Dice onion and peppers.
• Place butter in large pot and melt on low heat.
• Add onions to butter, adjusting stove temperature until onions become soft.
• Add peppers and cook for another few - peppers should be soft around edges but still a bit crispy.
• Cook spinach in sauce very slightly - one friend sautes it by taking a handful and swiping it around the pan.
• This can take awhile if you decide to make more for a dinner party, though, so I usually add enough to fill the pot one-third to one-half full, stir it a few times, then take out immediately.
• Spinach should still be fluffy - just barely sauteed.
• Continue until finished with spinach, removing some onions and peppers with each batch.
• Add extra onions and peppers to salad.
• Sprinkle with Cotija cheese just before serving.
• Serves approximately 6 as a side dish, with some onions and peppers leftover for the next day.
• You can prepare this dish ahead of time by sauteing the onions and peppers and setting them aside.
• Reheat them and add the spinach just before you're ready to serve.

WARM SPINACH SALAD WITH PANCETTA AND GORGONZOLA DRESSING

Steps:

• For the dressing, place vinegar, shallots, garlic and mustard in a medium size bowl and mix well.
• Slowly mix in the olive oil to blend.
• Season with cracked black pepper and set aside.
• Now for the salad, take the chopped pancetta and saute it until crisped and place on paper towels.
• On medium heat, place a large stainless bowl directly on the flame. Add.
• your dressing to the bowl then add the remaining salad ingredients and toss lightly.
• Divide onto 4 plates and serve.

WARM SALAD WITH CRISPED SPINACH AND QUAIL

Steps:

• To make the sauce, place the olive oil, cream, vinegar, garlic, salt and Tabasco in a saucepan over medium heat. Boil, lower the heat and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and set aside.
• To make the quail, heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the quail and saute about 2 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet, season with salt, set aside and keep warm.
• To make the spinach, heat the oil in a deep, heavy pot to 350 degrees. Carefully add the spinach (the grease will splatter) and fry until crisp, about 1 minute. Remove with tongs and drain on paper towels. Season with salt.
• To assemble the salads, divide the mesclun among 4 plates. Top with the quail and sprinkle with the basil. Spoon the sauce over it all and garnish with the fried spinach and pine nuts. Serve immediately.