My Mother-In-Law’s Spinach Salad (and how to make a perfect hard boiled egg)
This recipe is basically a family heirloom.
My mother-in-law is the master of this salad. She gave me the recipe at my bridal shower and I honestly haven’t altered it one bit, even after making it over and over again. It seems like a fairly simple recipe and it’s true, there aren’t many components, but they are perfectly balanced. So don’t leave anything out!
One thing can go very wrong with this recipe, however. If one thinks that they can just throw eggs in to a pot and let them boil for half an hour, they’re wrong. Grey rings, chalky yolks, eggs that won’t peel, the list goes on.
Here’s how to make the perfect hard-boiled egg:
1. Start with cold water in a saucepan. Add as many eggs as you want but don’t do more than one layer. Make sure the eggs are fully covered. Note: for easy peeling eggs, the only solution is to use older eggs (not super fresh ones).
2. Bring water a boil.
3. As soon as water gets to a boil remove the pot from the heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
4. After 10 minutes, uncover pan, drain out hot water and run cold water into the pan, even adding ice if you feel like it.
5. When eggs have cooled to your desired temp (you can pick them up and hold them in your hand to see), peel them gently under cold running water.
- 2 large handfuls baby spinach
- 2 Tbsp thinly sliced red onion
- 2 large white mushrooms, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 2-3 Tbsp crumbled bacon, about 2 or 3 slices
- 1 hard boiled egg, cooled and sliced in half
- dressing to taste
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp celery seed
- 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- Combine dressing ingredients in a jar, cover and shake to combine. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.
- Assemble salad with spinach on the bottom and the other toppings resting on top.
- Use dressing to finish (use sparingly) according to your taste.
- Do not leave out the celery seeds, or cut down on the amount of sugar. It sounds like a lot but I promise you these ratios are perfect.
- Salad dressing makes about 1 cup, probably enough for about 6-10 salads depending on how much dressing you like.
