Bacon Nation: 125 Irresistible Recipes by Peter Kaminsky, Marie Rama Page B
Authors: Peter Kaminsky, Marie Rama
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apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¾ to 1 teaspoon hot curry powder, according to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced shallots
For the Cobb salad
8 slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (8 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of half a lemon
8 to 9 cups packed romaine leaves, bite-size pieces, rinsed and dried
⅓ cup packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 large ripe tomatoes, cored and diced
⅓ cup chopped red onion
2 avocados, pitted, peeled, and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
2 large hard-cooked eggs (see page 98 ), peeled and coarsely chopped
¾ cup (3 ounces) crumbled Roquefort or other blue cheese
1 Make the curry dressing: Combine the olive oil, cider vinegar, honey, mustard, and curry powder in a blender and blend on medium speed for a few seconds until smooth and well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the shallots and pulse 3 to 4 times to combine. Set the curry dressing aside.
2 Make the Cobb salad: Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp and the fat is rendered, 7 to 9 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour the bacon fat into a small bowl and wipe the skillet clean with paper towels.
3 Place a chicken breast in a heavy-duty plastic bag or between 2 pieces of waxed paper and pound it with the flat side of a meat pounder or Chinese cleaver until it is about ½ inch thick. Repeat with the second chicken breast half.
4 Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat in the skillet over medium-high heat until it’s hot, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side, turning once.
5 Add the lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of water to the skillet, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let the chicken simmer, covered, until it is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts. To test for doneness, use a paring knife to make a small incision into the thickest part of each chicken breast half. The meat should appear white with no trace of pink and the juices should run clear. Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let it cool for about 10 minutes before cutting it into ½- to 1-inch pieces.
6 Place the romaine and the basil in a large mixing bowl and toss it with about ¼ cup of the curry dressing, then spread the greens out on a large serving platter. Toss the chicken in the same bowl with 3 tablespoons of the dressing. Arrange the chicken on top of the greens in a single row. Add the tomatoes and red onion to the bowl and toss with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the dressing. Arrange the tomato and onion mixture in a row next to the chicken. Arrange the avocado slices and hard-cooked eggs in rows and drizzle the remaining dressing over them. Sprinkle the bacon and blue cheese evenly over the entire salad and serve.
Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus with Mixed Greens, Toasted Bread Cubes, and Soft-Cooked Eggs
Serves 4
Americans (and our cousins in the British Isles) are devoted to bacon and eggs. We are relative newcomers to the practice of wrapping vegetables in bacon as, for example, Sicilians do with their famous cipollate con pancetta—slices of bacon (or the more traditional pancetta) wrapped around spring onions or scallions. Combining the two ideas, a bacon-wrapped vegetable and eggs, seemed a fine way to create a lunch or dinner salad. So we tried it and it worked. For a more substantial meal, the salad is really nice with some freshly caught flounder dredged in cornmeal and panfried in bubbling brown butter.
For the bread cubes
2½ cups sourdough or rustic peasant bread cut into ½- to 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
Salt and freshly ground black
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¾ to 1 teaspoon hot curry powder, according to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced shallots
For the Cobb salad
8 slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (8 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of half a lemon
8 to 9 cups packed romaine leaves, bite-size pieces, rinsed and dried
⅓ cup packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 large ripe tomatoes, cored and diced
⅓ cup chopped red onion
2 avocados, pitted, peeled, and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
2 large hard-cooked eggs (see page 98 ), peeled and coarsely chopped
¾ cup (3 ounces) crumbled Roquefort or other blue cheese
1 Make the curry dressing: Combine the olive oil, cider vinegar, honey, mustard, and curry powder in a blender and blend on medium speed for a few seconds until smooth and well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the shallots and pulse 3 to 4 times to combine. Set the curry dressing aside.
2 Make the Cobb salad: Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp and the fat is rendered, 7 to 9 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour the bacon fat into a small bowl and wipe the skillet clean with paper towels.
3 Place a chicken breast in a heavy-duty plastic bag or between 2 pieces of waxed paper and pound it with the flat side of a meat pounder or Chinese cleaver until it is about ½ inch thick. Repeat with the second chicken breast half.
4 Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat in the skillet over medium-high heat until it’s hot, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side, turning once.
5 Add the lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of water to the skillet, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let the chicken simmer, covered, until it is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts. To test for doneness, use a paring knife to make a small incision into the thickest part of each chicken breast half. The meat should appear white with no trace of pink and the juices should run clear. Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let it cool for about 10 minutes before cutting it into ½- to 1-inch pieces.
6 Place the romaine and the basil in a large mixing bowl and toss it with about ¼ cup of the curry dressing, then spread the greens out on a large serving platter. Toss the chicken in the same bowl with 3 tablespoons of the dressing. Arrange the chicken on top of the greens in a single row. Add the tomatoes and red onion to the bowl and toss with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the dressing. Arrange the tomato and onion mixture in a row next to the chicken. Arrange the avocado slices and hard-cooked eggs in rows and drizzle the remaining dressing over them. Sprinkle the bacon and blue cheese evenly over the entire salad and serve.
Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus with Mixed Greens, Toasted Bread Cubes, and Soft-Cooked Eggs
Serves 4
Americans (and our cousins in the British Isles) are devoted to bacon and eggs. We are relative newcomers to the practice of wrapping vegetables in bacon as, for example, Sicilians do with their famous cipollate con pancetta—slices of bacon (or the more traditional pancetta) wrapped around spring onions or scallions. Combining the two ideas, a bacon-wrapped vegetable and eggs, seemed a fine way to create a lunch or dinner salad. So we tried it and it worked. For a more substantial meal, the salad is really nice with some freshly caught flounder dredged in cornmeal and panfried in bubbling brown butter.
For the bread cubes
2½ cups sourdough or rustic peasant bread cut into ½- to 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
Salt and freshly ground black
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