Warm Bacon & Avocado Salad
Warm salads make great lunches or plated starters for dinner. And anything that contains bacon – and especially recipes that combine bacon and avocado – get my vote. If you add chicken or shrimp this could easily be a main dish dinner.
We love versatility in our recipes! This Warm Bacon & Avocado Salad is from Simply Delicious the Classic Collection: 100 recipes from soups & starters to puddings & pies, a book from legendary Irish author Darina Allen.
Note: We received this cookbook from the publisher- but all opinions are our own. This post may include affiliate links. Please see our complete disclosure here.
Bacon Is Low FODMAP
If you are a bacon fan, please read our article Is Bacon Low FODMAP? for more information that pertains to its low FODMAP status so that you know what to shop for.
The only change I had to make to the original recipe in order to FODMAP IT!™ was to reduce the amount of avocado and make sure that the bread for the croutons was low FODMAP.
Be sure to see Darina’s Steak with Béarnaise Sauce & Frites and her Baked Summer Plaice, as well.
If you like warm salads, check out our Spinach & Chicken Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing, Blue Cheese & Strawberries.
Recipe with permission. Simply Delicious the Classic Collection: 100 recipes from soups & starters to puddings & pies, by Darina Allen. Published by Kyle Books, 2019. Photography by Peter Cassidy.
From Darina:Warm salads were all the rage in the late eighties and early nineties, but they still make a delicious appetizer or light lunch—this simple combination was, and remains, one of my firm favorites. The larger the selection of your salad greens, the more interesting the salad will be.
Warm Bacon & Avocado Salad
This Warm Bacon & Avocado Salad works well for lunch or dinner. Just be ready to serve it as soon as it is done.
Ingredients:
Salad:
- Selection of lettuces and salad greens, such as butterhead, iceberg, Belgian endive, radicchio, trevisano, watercress, and salad burnet
- 6- ounces (170 g) slab bacon, unsmoked or lightly smoked
- Clarified butter, or a mixture of butter and oil, plus olive oil, for cooking the bacon
- 4 slices low FODMAP white bread
- Sunflower or olive oil, for cooking the croutons
- 1 avocado (160 g total)
- 18 fresh walnut halves, to garnish (optional)
Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons walnut oil, or a mixture of 2 tablespoons walnut oil and 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
- 1 tablespoon Chardonnay wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon freshly chopped chives
- 1 teaspoon freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
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Wash and dry the salad greens, then tear into bite-size pieces. Put into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until needed.
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Cut the rind off the bacon, then cut the bacon into ¼-inch (6 mm) cubes. In a skillet, cook in clarified butter or a mixture of butter and oil until golden. Drain on paper towels.
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Make the Croutons: Cut the crusts off the bread, then cut into strips ¼ inch (6 mm) wide and into exact cubes. In a skillet, heat at least ¾ inch (2 cm) sunflower or olive oil until almost smoking. Add the croutons to the hot oil and stir once or twice; they will color almost immediately. Place a strainer over a Pyrex or stainless steel bowl. When the croutons are golden brown, pour the oil and croutons into the strainer. Drain the croutons on paper towels. The croutons may be made several hours or even a day ahead.
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Make the Dressing: In a small bowl, beat together the liquid ingredients, then add the chopped herbs and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
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Halve the avocado and remove the pit. Peel and cut into ½-inch (12 mm) dice.
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To serve, toss the salad greens in just enough of the dressing to make them glisten. Add the crisp, warm croutons and the diced avocado. Toss gently and divide the salad among eight plates. In a hot skillet, recook the bacon in a splash of olive oil until crisp and golden, then scatter the hot bacon over the salad. Garnish with the walnut halves, if desired. Serve right away.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more. For a more detailed explanation, please read our article Understanding The Nutrition Panel Within Our Recipes.
Buy Darina’s Book Here
For More Avocado Obsession: 10 Low FODMAP Avocado Recipes You Won’t Be Able to Resist.
What kind of “slab bacon” do you use for this recipe? I’m not sure what to look for in the store. I read the bacon article but I didn’t see a slab bacon defined/mentioned.
You can just use 6 ounces of your favorite bacon. This recipe was excepted from a cookbook and so was written as presented, hence the language. Slab bacon is literally just a slab, like a hunk, a bacon before it has been cut into the slices that you most likely are familiar with
The recipe mentions 8 servings and then the salad has to be divided amongst six plates ! Which is correct ?
8 servings, 8 plates. Enjoy.