How to Make Warm Cabbage and Bacon Salad

This super-easy dish is a rarity among salads: It's served warm. This recipe serves six to eight.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 2/3 c. olive (not virgin) oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 10 to 12 strips bacon
• 1 tbsp. Dijon mustards
• 1/4 c. balsamic vinegars
• 1 head red cabbages
• 2 tsp. cracked black pepper

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. 

   Arrange the bacon in a shallow baking pan and cook until very crisp, about 15 to 20 minutes. Watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't burn. It must be as crisp and crumbly as possible.

3. When done, remove the bacon and let it cool on paper towels. Save the accumulated fat for other uses.

4. 

   Prepare the vinaigrette dressing by placing the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk it together well, then continue whisking and drizzle in the oil in a thin steady stream. Set aside.

5. Remove any loose outer leaves from the cabbage and discard.

6. Quarter the cabbage and slice off the core sections.

7. 

   Slice the cabbage head into thin strips, as if for coleslaw.

8. Just before you want to serve the salad, heat two sauté pans over high heat.

9. 

   Finely crumble the bacon, dividing it between the pans.

10. When the bacon starts to sizzle, add the shredded cabbage. Don't let the cabbage exceed the rim of the pan.

11. Spoon in the vinaigrette, dividing it between the pans. It should come to a boil almost immediately.

12. Stir everything together over high heat for about 20 seconds, then serve. The key is to boil the dressing right up to the point the cabbage starts to wilt, then remove it from the pan immediately so the cabbage still has some crunch.

13. Transfer the salad to serving bowls and serve immediately.

Tips & Warnings

• You won't need much salt in this vinaigrette because the bacon is salty enough.