Dandelion, Spinach & Avocado Salad (with Pancetta)
With all the dandelions in people yards this time of year it seemed appropriate to write this recipe.
A diverse salad with plenty of healthy greens and a touch of that amazingly wonderfully evil pork fat. The bitterness of the dandelion is offset by the salty flavor of Pancetta, and the mild tenderness of the baby spinach. The avocado is rich yet mild giving a creamy consistency to the staunch leaf of the dandelion green. If you don’t have Pancetta you can use bacon, but the Pancetta is worth the expense and effort to find. (It’s usually in gourmet deli section next to the better cheeses.)
Pancetta is bacon’s Italian cousin and both are made from pork bellies. The major difference is Pancetta is cured, not smoked. Its appearance is different to because it’s rolled not laid out in strips. I doubt they use a better quality of pig in Italy to make Pancetta, it think the taste’s nuances are all in curing process which usually takes several months.
You are only using a couple slices of Pancetta. So don’t get all worried that your fat sensors will overload or you are serving an unhealthy meal. There’s a good chance that the Pancetta will be the agent provocateur in getting your family to eat the green stuff! Avocados act as a nutrient booster enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients from other foods, and they provide nearly 20 essential nutrients and vitamins. Spinach, as everyone has heard, is a ‘super food’.
Dandelion Greens are extremely rich in vitamins — more than double (by weight) the amount of Vitamin A, K, Iron and Calcium than broccoli. These are not the dandelion greens out of your yard, although they are same plant — just without the lawn care pesticides. We are using dandelion greens raw here — but you can quick cook them as you would any other leafy vegetable for other applications. So aside from the Pancetta and dressing, everything here is raw and about as unprocessed as possible.
Makes Salad for Two.
Ingredients:
- 2 big handfuls of Dandelion Greens, ripped or cut into manageable pieces
- 2 big handfuls of Baby Spinach
- 2 Avocados, ripe, peeled and sliced into bite size chunks
- 2 Slices of Pancetta, cubed
- ½ Shallot, finely chopped
- 2 TBSP. Olive Oil
- 1 TBSP. Dijon Mustard. (Use another 1/2 tbps if you like mustard)
- 1-3 TBSP. Sherry Wine Vinegar (or Red Wine Vinegar — in a pinch)
- ¼ Lemon (the juice of) to squeeze over avocado and salad
It’s best to prepare this salad in the following order. If you have helpers you can work concurrently. It comes together very quickly.
Procedure:
- Add your baby spinach and your shredded dandelion greens to a bowl, in about equal portions. Judge how hungry you are for the exact quantity or whether you are using this as a main dish lunch or a side with dinner.
- Render the Pancetta in a sauté pan until crisp and drain almost all the fat. Leave about a Tablespoon of pork fat in the pan. Remove Pancetta to a plate covered with a paper towel to absorb any excess fat. Then sauté your finely chopped Shallot until aromatic. This should only take a few seconds. Add the mustard, Sherry Wine Vinegar and the olive oil and stir together. This will make the dressing of the salad. When combined, return the Pancetta to the hot pan, mix well, and pour equal amounts over the individual salad bowls and toss in equal amounts. The warmness of the dressing will ever so slightly wilt the greens and modify the bitterness of the dandelions.
- Peel, remove pit, and chop the Avocado into bite size pieces and squeeze some lemon juice over the pieces to keep them from oxidizing and turning an unpalatable brown color. Then add one prepped avocado to each bowl. Squirt remaining lemon juice over each salad. Serve Immediately!
Make It A Full Meal:
Grill a couple Portabella mushrooms (lightly coated in olive oil) in a grill pan or on a gas grill. You will want to cook the portabellas before making the salad and dressing or delegate the duty to someone else while you prep the salad. Slice and add to the salads and you have a hearty dinner.
