I have a certain person in my family who despises green food, and it’s not me or one of the kids. Still, I can get him to eat his spinach when I make this warm spinach salad. You can vary it in a number of ways, which I’ll include after the recipe. For the salad, I prefer baby spinach, which is more tender and flavorful; however, you can use other types of spinach, as well. The recipe below serves four.

• 8 ounces of baby spinach
• 2 Tablespoons duck fat
• 5 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
• 2 shallots, sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (or raw apple cider vinegar)
• Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

1. Wash and drain baby spinach. Place dry spinach in a large, heatproof bowl.
2. Heat olive oil in pan and cook chopped bacon until crispy.
3. Remove bacon from fat with a slotted spoon and put in bowl with spinach.
4. Add shallots and cook until soft.
5. Add red wine vinegar, scraping browned bits off bottom of pan.
6. Pour dressing from pan over the top of spinach and bacon and toss. The bacon will wilt slightly.
7. Top with fresh pepper and serve immediately.

Variations:

• Change vinegar to sherry vinegar or balsamic
• Add pine nuts
• Add zest from one orange to dressing when you add sugar