When I tell you that I love this salad, I want you to understand what that means.
See, I like spinach. I do. But spinach salad and I had something of a falling out. I was a vegetarian in college, and when I ate in the cafeteria there weren’t always very many appetizing veggie options. So every day at lunch and every day at dinner, I ate a spinach salad.
Sometimes I ate something else, too, like a sandwich, or some noodles with marinara sauce, or some veggie lasagna. But pretty much every day of my life, I had a spinach salad with black beans, olives, tomatoes, and balsamic vinaigrette. (BORINGGGGG).
So, needless to say, as soon as I was free from my college cafeteria I went straight for anything BUT spinach salad. And now, most of the time, when I see spinach salad, memories of boring cafeteria spinach come screaming back to me and I die a little inside.
Until one day last summer, when my friend Lydia made this spinach salad. And I was cured. (Well, sort of. I still hate any spinach salad that isn’t THIS spinach salad. But hey, progress!) So when I say I love this salad, in spite of my no-spinach-salad-ever-again mindset, that means that this salad is SUPER DUPER DELICIOUS. I’ve done my best to recreate the dressing Lydia used, and it even has Kyle’s official stamp of approval (woo!) The crispy prosciutto in this salad is the other game-changer. The dressing is sweet with a hit of vinegar, and the salty prosciutto rounds out the flavors in an “oh-man-how-did-I-ever-live-without-this-salad” kind of way.
Spinach Prosciutto Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
Serves 4
FOR THE DRESSING:
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic
2 and 1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar
4 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1. Put all ingredients in a small blender or food processor and puree until basil and garlic are chopped finely and dressing is emulsified. It should look like a traditional vinaigrette or a very runny pesto.
2. Pour over salad. Serve immediately. Dressing will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.
FOR THE SALAD:
3 oz. prosciutto (about 4 sandwich-sized pieces)
4 cups baby spinach leaves
1. In a skillet or in a 375 degree oven, crisp the prosciutto. Turn the meat frequently on the stovetop or on the pan in the oven, making sure that all sides of it get nice and crispy. This process usually takes 10-15 minutes, regardless of which method you choose. I prefer to cook my prosciutto in the stove so it doesn’t spatter on my stovetop. It should be super crunchy!
2. Remove the crisped prosciutto to a plate covered in a paper towel. The towel will soak up any remaining grease and keep the prosciutto from getting soggy. Let it cool.
3. When prosciutto is cooled, crumble it into pieces. I like big chunks, but you can crumble it into bacon-bit sized pieces if you’d like.
4. Toss the crispy prosciutto with the spinach and dress lightly with basil vinaigrette. Serve immediately.
Not sure what Anna R is referring to with this salad. I found the crispy, salty prosciutto to be a perfect contrast for the fragrant, basil loaded dressing drizzled over the spinach. I cleaned out the bowl with this one and will definitely make again. Thanks for sharing this winner.
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it! It’s one of my favorite salads.
I for one enjoyed this salad immensely. Fresh, a clean taste, and one I would make again for the family! I don’t know what Anna means by salty prosciutto, since prosciutto is salty by definition, and if it isn’t, then it’s bad prosciutto. I felt the dressing was very complimentary to the salad, while not overpowering the original taste. This dish is simplistic, yet a fantastic compliment to a meal of meatloaf and potatoes. The ingredients harmonized quite well.
I’m so happy you liked it – thanks for letting me know!
Hm. I made this salad today and it turned out to be pretty awful. I ended up eating it because I like spinach well enough and I don’t like throwing perfectly good food into the waste bin. The crispy prosciutto was extremely salty, it tasted of salt and nothing else. As for the dressing (basically vinaigrette plus lots and lots of fresh basil) — it did absolutely nothing for the spinach or the salty prosciutto flakes. This dish has got three ingredients, basically, and they simply don’t harmonize.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the salad! I’ve made it many times for different groups of people and it’s always been well-received. The dressing IS a vinaigrette with fresh basil – I wasn’t trying to portray it as something different, which is why I used the word “vinaigrette” in the title. Some people aren’t big vinaigrette fans (I used to be one of them – I was all about the creamy, hearty dressings when I was younger!), and a lot of that is just a matter of taste. The vinaigrette I used in this recipe is based on a very standard vinaigrette formula – an emulsion of oil and vinegar. It’s the same basic combination you’ll find in any other vinaigrette dressing, but with a few small tweaks. If you found the basil overpowering, I’d suggest cutting the amount of basil in the dressing by half. You could also substitute some balsamic vinegar for some of the red wine vinegar for a deeper, more complex flavor. I chose red wine vinegar because I liked how clean and crisp it tasted.
It sounds like the prosciutto in your recipe did exactly what it was supposed to – it’s made by salting and then dry-curing cuts of pork, which is why it has a very salty taste. When you crisp it up, the salt becomes even more prevalent as the fatty parts of the meat cook down (just like cooking bacon!) For me, that’s great – salt really makes flavor pop on your palate, and adds dimension to any dish. I’ve been taught that salt is essential in cooking, and I try to make sure everything I make is well-seasoned. But if you aren’t accustomed to much salt in your diet, or if you just don’t have a very salty palate, a lot of salt can be overwhelming. I chose to include prosciutto in this dish because I believe the salty crunch of the meat is a great contrast to the soft, mild flavor of spinach. It could easily be omitted, though, if someone was a vegetarian, didn’t like salty foods, or wanted to cut a few calories. Eliminating any salt in the vinaigrette would also help decrease the saltiness of the overall dish.
I’m sorry the salad wasn’t to your liking, but I do hope you’ll come back and try other recipes! I hope that explaining the choices I made in different components of this dish (and ways to tweak it!) might help you to find a version you can enjoy.