3057. WARM KIDNEY and BACON SALAD

serves two 


2 tablespoons sherry vinegar 

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 

6 tablespoons olive oil 

9-10 cm square piece of bacon, sliced into 3cm x 1cm batons 

6 lambs kidney, split in half lengthways and white core removed 

knob butter 

2 large handfuls frisée lettuce, washed 

For the shallot puree 

butter, for frying  

3 banana shallots, diced 

1 bay leaf  

double cream, for moistening 

For the croutons 

oil, for frying 

4 slices of day old white bread, crust removed and cut into 1cm cubes

For the puree: melt a knob of butter in a heavy-based pan over a low heat and gently sweat the shallots with the bay leaf for about 30 miutes, until they are really soft.

Add a splash of cream and increase the heat until the cream bubbles. Remove the pan from the heat and, using a slotted spoon, transfer the shallots to a blender (don’t add all the liquid from the pan until you know the consistency you have after blending). Puree the mix and add a little more liquid from the pan if necessary. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set the mixture aside until ready to serve.

For the croutons: heat a little oil in a heavy-based shallow pan and fry the bread cubes until golden on all sides. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
 
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and mustard, then slowly pour in the oil and whisk until emulsified into a dressing. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and set aside.

Cook the bacon in a heavy-based pan until crisp and golden brown. Remove from the pan, and chop.

Season the kidneys on all sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Melt a knob of butter in the bacon frying pan, and add the kidneys, colouring then for about 2 minutes on each side and shaking the pan. They should still be a little pink in the middle. Remove them from the pan and leave them to rest for 1-2 minutes, then drain off any blood.

Put the bacon and kidneys back in the pan over a gentle heat to warm through. Add the croutons and a drizzle of the dressing and toss over the heat again for a minute or two.

To serve, dress the lettuce with the remaining dressing and arrange on serving plates. Add a couple of dollops of shallot puree, sprinkle over the bacon pieces and then top with the warm kidney and scatter over the croutons.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Matt Tebbutt, Market Kitchen, Good Food Channel, UK-TV