Flambé Spinach Salad
Back when tableside flair meant real flames and real applause, this Flambé Spinach Salad was born to steal the spotlight. Tender spinach meets a warm, honey-balsamic dressing kissed with VSOP Cognac, ignited for a brief moment of culinary theater before being finished with toasted walnuts, creamy goat cheese, and a whisper of walnut oil. It’s elegant, dramatic, and just a little daring, the kind of salad that turns a simple course into a standing ovation.
Flambé Spinach Salad
Servings
4
servingsPrep time
30
minutesCooking time
40
minutesCalories
100
kcalIngredients
4 cups triple cleaned spinach
1 1/2 ounces VSOP Cognac
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium shallot, minced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup toasted walnut halves
5 ounces goat cheese crumbled
2 teaspoons walnut oil
Directions
- Ingredients
- Place spinach in an attractive salad bowl. Measure out ingredients. In a butter warmer or over low heat, gently warm Cognac.
- Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat; add and sauté shallots until softened, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in balsamic vinegar and honey.
- Use a spoon to pull the dressing ingredients back towards the skillet handle, pull the skillet back to heat the front of the skillet, pour Cognac into the front of the skillet and heat 1 to 2 seconds, and use a long match or a wand lighter to light the Cognac. Stir Cogna in the dressing until flames go out.
- Pour hot dressing over spinach; add walnuts and goat cheese and gently toss together.
- Plate up salad on 4 plates and drizzle walnut oil over the tops of the salads and serve.
