Monday, November 17, 2014

.thanksgiving recipe: bacon and pepita salad.

 
Salad is a "safe" food for me, so I eat it a lot. Not to mention it's delicious and good for you! And who doesn't love bacon, really?  
 
This salad is so satisfying for me; I often have it for dinner just by itself. And it's definitely on my Thanksgiving dinner menu!
 
Because many store-bought salad dressings contain soy, dairy, or food coloring, we have started just drizzling our salads with an oil and balsamic vinegar. If you haven't done this before, this is the perfect salad to try it!
 
Click the read more below for the recipe
 
Bacon and Pepita Salad
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
  • 3-4 tablespoons oil for sautéing (I use sunflower oil)
  • 4-5 strips of bacon (I use turkey bacon)
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • Favorite salad greens
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
  • Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat
  • Add bacon, shallot, and pepitas
  • Sauté until bacon is crispy
  • Place salad greens in serving bowl
  • Pour entire bacon mixture with oil over greens
  • (Side note: because I use turkey bacon, there is not a lot of extra fat in the pan; if you are using pork bacon, I would suggest draining the fat and oil and drizzling the salad greens with different oil)
  • Allow the hot mixture to slightly wilt the greens
  • Sprinkle the cranberries on top
  • Drizzle with balsamic vinegar
 
Serve immediately!
I think this would be wonderful with cheese, as well, maybe a feta, or other similar cheese. Because I cannot have dairy, though, I've never tried it!

7 comments:

  1. Oh wow! That really does look delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the idea of a warm dressing...can't wait to try this!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That looks delish! I think I'd try it with a little bleu cheese, but that's probably because I think the stuff tastes great with bacon. Yummy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I wasn't on a dairy-free diet right now, I'd definitely try a little bleu cheese!

      Delete
  4. This sounds SO good!! I love warm salads, and when I see them on a menu, it's a frequent choice of mine. I've never made one at home, and I'm not sure why. I also love the idea of pepitas, although I don't know that I've seen them for sale already shelled. Going to have to look...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I found my pepitas in the bulk-food section of my grocery store. I hope you find some and can try this tasty salad for yourself!

      Delete