This can be a side dish or a meal~ sometimes I want a lighter dinner than HH so I made chicken for him, and I just had this salad…
This salad is so appealing for this time of year, it’s warm, yet light, and full of autumn flavors…
sweet potatoes, maple, and any time is perfect for bacon!
I prefer to cook bacon in the oven if I don’t need the drippings, especially maple bacon which is so easy to burn. If you lay bacon strips on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, it cooks perfectly every time. Watch carefully at the end and drain well once it’s out of the oven and pat with paper towels. You can cook bacon several days in advance, store in your fridge and refresh with 20-30 seconds in the microwave before using. Easy peasy.
The whole salad is easy peasy. I started to peel the sweet potatoes but I have a really crappy dull peeler, so after a few swipes I just left the skin on and diced up the potatoes. Drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper they will be perfect after about 30 minutes at 400 degrees.
Try not to eat these all up before you get them in the salad, they smell so tempting!
While potatoes are roasting toss the pecans in a skillet with butter, brown sugar and salt. Cook over medium low heat stirring and watching carefully. After 5-7 minutes they will start to caramelize and brown. Remove to a sheet of wax paper to cool. Make a big batch and store the rest in jars in your pantry or freezer to have for another time.
In a large bowl, place fresh spinach leaves and crispy romaine. Add warm potatoes, crumbled bacon pieces and pecans and toss with dressing to taste.
Oh! And Bleu Cheese! Add some crumbles of bleu cheese just before tossing~if you like bleu cheese of course~it makes everything taste fabulous in my book, but this salad is wonderful with or without…
The Mustard and Maple Dressing is standard in my fridge. The recipe came from Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman. It only takes moments to make and is good on just about everything. Tangy yet sweet, light and flavorful, perfect!
Here’s the recipe:
ROASTED SWEET POTATO SPINACH SALAD with MAPLE BACON
Ingredients
- fresh spinach and romaine leaves
- 2 large sweet potatoes scrubbed and cut into cubes
- 4-6 slices maple bacon cooked and drained
- 2 oz crumbled bleu cheese or gorgonzola
- 1 cup pecan halves
- 1 T butter
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- Mustard Maple Dressing
Instructions
- Place potatoes on foil lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss potatoes with fingers to coat with oil and seasonings. Roast for 30 minutes at 400 degrees or until done.
- Meanwhile cook pecans over medium low heat in a skillet with butter, brown sugar and salt. Cook and stir until caramelized and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove to a sheet of wax paper to cool.
- Place greens in a large salad bowl. Toss greens with warm potatoes, crumbled bacon, pecans and cheese. Add dressing to taste. Serves 4
Mustard Maple Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp real maple syrup
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a small jar
- Shake well to mix
- Refrigerate for several hours to blend flavors
- Store in refrigerator for up to 1 month
- Double or triple recipe as needed
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