This creamy bacon dressing and greens is the perfect springtime salad. It’s great with dandelion greens but spinach works in a pinch too.
Originally this “salad” was supposed to be made with dandelion greens.
Unfortunately, I could not get my hands on some so I used some fresh local spinach instead.
It was a perfect substitute.
The dressing is creamy, filling with bacon flavor, and has just the amount of apple cider vinegar bite.
Now, about this dressing.
It’s not really healthy. So please don’t leave me any snarky comments about how I’m making America fat because of food like this.
It’s really really really good so that is all that matters, right?
Another great thing about this recipe is that it’s something my Dad loves.
He says he remembers his mom making it every Spring when the dandelion greens were still young.
For years he thought that he would never taste the dish again because no one ever wrote the recipe down.
However, the other day we were on the phone together and he found an old cut-out recipe from the Toledo Blade newspaper.
He was sure it was his mom’s recipe.
Sadly, my Dad was not here to taste the recipe (I’m in New York, he is in Ohio) after I made it but by looks and description he is sure it’s the recipe his mom used to make.
Just for the record, the woman sourced in for the recipe is not my grandmother.
I guess it will remain a mystery if she got the recipe from my grandmother, my grandmother got the recipe from her, or if they just both stumbled upon the same delicious dish.
Creamy Bacon Dressing and Greens
Ingredients
- 3 pounds greens dandelion greens or spinach
- 5 slices thick cut bacon
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
Instructions
- Wash greens, dry, add to a large serving bowl and set aside.
- Let a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat and add the bacon.
- Cook until the bacon is crispy, remove the bacon onto a paper towel-lined plate, and move the skillet off the heat.
- Chop up the bacon and sprinkle onto the prepared greens.
- Add heavy cream and butter to the skillet with the bacon grease and set over low heat.
- While the butter and cream slowly warm in the skillet prepare the rest of the dressing.
- In a small bowl whisk together eggs, apple cider vinegar, granulated sugar, kosher salt, black pepper, and sweet paprika until smooth.
- Make sure the pan with the bacon grease, butter, and cream is set on low heat. The mixture should not be boiling or even bubbling.
- Very slowly drizzle the egg mixture into the pan with the butter and cream while whisking non-stop. If you do this too fast the eggs will scramble.
- Add all the mixture and continue whisking for a few minutes until the dressing starts to thicken.
- Once creamy, take the dressing off the heat and pour over the greens.
- Toss the greens with the hot dressing and bacon.
- The greens will soften but not fully cook.