2233. WILD BOAR RAGOUT with BACON DUMPLINGS

serves four


Wild Boar Ragout:
600 grams wild boar leg
250 grams onions
200 ml red wine
150 ml sunflower oil
50 ml hazelnut oil
10 grams juniper berries
20 grams sugar
5 grams cardamom whole
10 grams cinnamon sticks
150 grams frozen cranberries
15 grams fresh thyme
100 grams rose hip jam
salt, to taste

Bacon Dumplings:
200 grams bacon
300 grams flour (hruba mouka)
200 ml milk
250 grams white bread
100 grams onions
30 grams chopped parsley
30 grams butter
salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste

Wild Boar Ragout: Clean the meat and cut in cubes. Heat the casserole and add sunflower oil and hazelnut oil. Sauté the meat until it becomes very brown, then take out. Add sliced onions and all the spices, and sauté until golden. Deglaze the pan with red wine and water. Add the meat back and cook until soft. When ragout is ready, add frozen cranberries and rose hip jam.

Bacon Dumplings: Slice the white bread in small cubes and let dry over night. Slice bacon and onions in small cubes and sauté in same pan. Combine the bread with egg yolk, warm milk, flour, onions with bacon and chopped parsley. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. After all this, slowly mix a whipped egg white inside the mixture.

Brush a cake form with butter or lay out with baking paper, and place the mixture inside and bake at 140°C for 20 minutes. When slightly cooled, slice and serve with the ragout.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Chef Marek Fichtner, Le Grill at Kempinski Hybernská, Prague

2191. BAHAMIAN LOBSTER and BACON RAGOUT

makes 6 servings


Three 1-pound live lobsters
4 thick slices streaky bacon, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1/2 medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced, with juices included
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 small jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon water
Boiled long-grain white rice

In a large stockpot, bring about 8 inches of water to a rolling boil and plunge the lobsters head-first into the water. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and steam the lobsters about 7 minutes. Remove from the water with tongs, crack the shells with a mallet or hammer, and, when cool enough to handle, shred the lobster meat and set aside.

In a large skillet, fry the bacon over moderate heat just till it renders most of its fat, add the onion, celery, and bell pepper, and stir about 5 minutes. Add the lobster meat, tomato paste, tomatoes, thyme, jalapeno, and salt and pepper and stir till the mixture is soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the water and stir about 3 minutes longer.

Serve the ragout hot over mounds of rice.


bacon recipe courtesy of: The Bacon Cookbook: More than 150 Recipes from Around the World for Everyone's Favorite Food by James Villas. Wiley, 2007

2130. BAKED ALASKAN POLLOCK with BACON on an ASPARAGUS RAGOUT

serves four


320 grams Alaskan pollock fillets
4 slices Serrano ham
400 grams green and white asparagus
0.2 liters cream
butter
salt and pepper
Sichuan pepper
cornflour

Asparagus ragout: Trim the asparagus, cover the trimmed tough ends with water and boil for about 10 to 15 minutes to make the stock. Decant the liquid into a pan, mix in the cream and reduce to about half the quantity over a low heat. Thicken with cornflour.

Cut the asparagus stalks into bite-size pieces and simmer in the asparagus sauce for about 12 to 15 minutes. The asparagus gives off quite a lot of liquid, so the sauce needs to be thick to start with.

Pollock: Season the pollock with salt and pepper and fry in olive oil and butter for 2 to 3 minutes each side.

Lay the thin slices of ham on the hot fish (they give the dish a rich flavour) and serve on a bed of asparagus ragout.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Marine Stewardship Council, MSC Head Office (Worldwide), 3rd floor, Mountbarrow House, 6-20 Elizabeth Street, London SW1W 9RB UK

2008. PAN-SEARED COD with BACON and CREAMY FENNEL RAGOUT

makes 4 servings


4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 fennel bulbs (sometimes called anise; 2 pounds), stalks discarded and bulbs cut lengthwise into 1-inch wedges
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (14 fluid ounces)
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped drained sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 (7-ounce) pieces cod, scrod, or halibut fillet (about 1 inch thick)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Garnish: fennel fronds

Cook bacon in a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon oil to fat in skillet, then cook fennel with salt and pepper over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add broth, cream, tomatoes, and garlic to fennel and cook, partially covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until fennel is tender and cream is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.

While fennel cooks, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Season fillets with salt and pepper, then sauté 4 minutes. Turn over and sauté until just cooked through, about 3 minutes more.

Stir mustard and bacon into fennel ragout and season with salt and pepper. Serve cod over fennel ragout.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Gourmet, December 2003

2007. PAN-ROASTED CORN and BACON RAGOUT with FARM FRESH EGGS

yields four servings


1 cup bacon, diced
1 large red onion, chopped
3 ears corn, kernels and milk scraped from cobs (about 3 cups)
5 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 organic eggs
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
1 tablespoon freshly chopped scallions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large Dutch oven or large cast iron pan over medium-high heat, saute the bacon until very crispy and all of the fat is rendered, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the onion and saute, for about 3 minutes. Add the corn, garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes. Crack the eggs into the pan and place into preheated oven for about 3 to 5 minutes until the eggs are set.

Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle with parsley and scallions.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Emeril Lagasse, "Emeril's Farmers Market," Emeril Live, 2007

1286. SPRINGTIME RAGOUT of BACON, FAVA, PEAS and GREEN GARLIC

serves 4-6


3 cups of fava beans
1 cup of peas
1 stab of thick cut bacon, cut into strips
3 sprigs of rosemary
4 sprigs of fresh mint
1 laurel leaf
3 sprigs of thyme
1 tomato, diced
1 onion, diced
3 young potatoes, chopped into cubes
3 green garlic, diced into large chunks
½ cup of white wine
olive oil
salt and pepper

In 2 tablespoon of oil, sauté bacon strips until crispy. Remove bacon. In the bacon oil, sauté potato cubes until golden brown and set aside. In same oil, sauté onions and green garlic until soft and add diced tomatoes. Simmer for 5-7 minutes.

Add fava, potatoes, bacon, herbs and white wine. Bring to a boil then lower heat to allow for a slow simmer. Cook covered for about 10 minutes, adding water when necessary. Don’t stir too much to avoid breaking the beans.

Add peas and continue cooking for another 7-10 minutes or until peas are soft but not mushy. Salt and pepper to taste.


courtesy of: Chow, 235 2nd Street, First Floor, San Francisco, California 94105

94. SUN DRIED TOMATO and SMOKED BACON RAGOUT

yields 2 cups


1/4 lb smoked bacon
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
4 artichokes
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Splash of lamb stock (if available)
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Black pepper

Boil the artichokes in a quart of salted water with splash of vinegar, and aromatics of choice (garlic, bay, peppercorns, coriander seed, etc). When tender, remove the outer leaves and clean the heart; slice the heart into 1/8" strips.

If the tomatoes are in oil, squeeze out excess oil. Heat the tomatoes in a small pan with enough water to almost cover. Cook just long enough to rehydrate. Slice the bacon into 1/8" strips, then again the other way into smaller strips (lardoons) and render in a sauté pan. Stir frequently. Remove when crisp; drain on a paper towel. Reserve.

Combine the bacon and tomato (with liquid) into a sauté pan; add basil, lamb stock, balance seasoning with salt and pepper. Stir in balsamic vinegar. Whisk in a little extra virgin olive oil to taste. Add the artichoke heart pieces.


SUGGESTION: Serve with roast rack of lamb


courtesy of: Historic Sand Rock Farm Bed & Breakfast, Aptos, California