3548. BACON KALE CAESAR SALAD

serves six


For the croutons:
4 slices white bread, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, very finely minced
¼ teaspoon oregano
⅛ teaspoon chili flakes

For the dressing:
½ lb. bacon, cut into 1 inch strips
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoon umeboshi vinegar
2 anchovies, finely minced
1 tablespoon reserved bacon fat, melted
1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
2 large garlic cloves, very finely minced
⅓ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
sea salt, to taste

 

For the salad:

6 stalks of curly kale, washed, stem removed and torn into bite sized pieces

Optional: 1 cup red grapes, cut in half

For the croutons: Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil, garlic, oregano and chili flakes. Pour the bread cubes onto a rimmed baking sheet and bake them in the oven for 15 minutes, or until they are crunchy. You want them to dry out, not toast. If they haven't dried out after 15 minutes leave them in the oven a little longer.

 

For the dressing: Slice the bacon into 1 inch strips (I always have some bacon in the freezer and find it very easy to slice from frozen) Place the bacon in a frying pan over medium high heat and cook, stirring often for 7-8 minutes, or until the bacon is crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan using a slotted spoon and reserve 1 tablespoon of the fat.

 

Place the room temperature egg yolks in a medium sized bowl. Add the 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and whisk them together. SLOWLY drizzle in the vegetable oil while whisking constantly. Once the dressing starts to thicken you can pour the oil in a little faster.

 

Once all the oil has been incorporated whisk in the remaining ¼ cup of fresh lemon juice, the umeboshi vinegar, anchovies, reserved bacon fat, fresh cracked pepper, garlic and parmesan cheese. Season to taste with sea salt.

 

To assemble the salad: Place the washed kale in a large bowl. Add the crispy bacon, and optional grapes. Pour the dressing overtop and toss so that everything is coated well. Let the dressing sit on the kale for at least 5 minutes before you serve it. Toss the croutons through the salad immediately before you serve it.

 

 

bacon recipe source: Kristen, The Endless Meal (@TheEndlessMeal), July 13, 2014

3629. HOT AVOCADO and BACON CAESAR SALAD

serves two 


6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
1 ripe avocado
2 thick slices of granary bread, or malted oat bread
4 tablespoons Caesar salad dessing
8 romaine lettuce leaves 

Heat a large non-stick frying pan and dry fry the bacon for 4 minutes each side until the rashers are golden. While they are cooking, halve, stone and slice the avocado and put the bread in a toaster – but don’t leave it in for the full time, you want to warm it rather than toast it. 

Spread the warmed bread with half the dressing then roughly slice the lettuce and pile on top of the bread with the avocado. Roughly chop the bacon into large pieces and scatter over the lettuce. Drizzle with the rest of the dressing, grind over some black pepper and eat with a knife and fork.


bacon recipe source: Good Food magazine, BBC, August 2003

2568. KALE CAESAR SALAD with CRISPY BACON, GARLIC PANKO CRUMBS and WHITE ANCHOVIES

yields four servings


6 strips bacon
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/4 teaspoons chopped garlic, divided
generous 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
pinch chile flakes
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon chopped anchovies
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
4 teaspoons Frank’s brand hot sauce or other hot sauce
4 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for plating
pepper to taste
1 bunch kale, washed and ribs removed
8 white anchovies for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Place a metal cooling rack on a sheet tray. Lay the bacon over the cooling rack and roast in the oven until crispy, about 20 minutes. Remove and transfer to paper towels to drain. When the bacon is cool enough to handle, break it up into 1-inch pieces and set aside.

Melt the butter in a wide sauté pan over low heat. When the butter begins to bubble, add 1/4 teaspoon of the chopped garlic, the chile flakes, and the oregano. Cook for one minute, then add the panko. Continue cooking until the crumbs are golden brown, about another minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the dressing, process the remaining garlic and the chopped anchovies in a food processor until smooth. Add the egg yolk, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard and blend until smooth. Slowly stream in the olive oil while blending. When all of the oil is added, add the Parmesan and blend a final time. Season to taste with pepper.

To serve, place the kale in a mixing bowl and toss with the dressing. Divide the kale among 4 salad plates. Sprinkle with panko and Parmesan. Top with a couple of white anchovies and several pieces of bacon.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Marc Orfaly, chef of Marco (253 Hanover Street, North End, Boston, MA 02113), Pigalle (75 Charles Street South, Boston, MA 02116), and Remick's Restaurant (1657 Hancock Street, Quincy, Massachusetts 02169)

2100. CAESAR SALAD with MAPLE-BRUSHED BACON

serves six


½ ciabatta loaf
about 250ml olive oil
200 grams rindless streaky bacon
2-3 tablespoons maple syrup
3 little gem lettuces
about 100 grams marinated anchovy fillets (not tightly packed in oil)
about 100 grams thin shavings parmesan cheese
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dressing:
1 fat clove garlic, roughly crushed
2 tablespoons grated fresh parmesan
1 large free-range egg
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 anchovy fillets, from above
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Make the croutons first. Cut the bread into approximately 1.5cm cubes and put into a shallow bowl. Trickle over about 100ml of the oil and toss well into the cubes. Spread on a baking sheet.

Heat the oven to 190C/Gas 5, and bake the bread cubes for about 10-15 minutes, stirring once or twice until golden-brown. Remove to cool and crisp.

Lay the bacon on a sheet of nonstick baking parchment in a single layer. Top with another layer of paper and another baking sheet. Bake the bacon for about 10 minutes, then remove the top sheet and paper layer. Brush the rashers with the maple syrup and return to the oven for another 5 minutes or so until crisp and glazed. Remove, cool and break into bite-sized pieces. Set aside with the cubes.

Separate out the lettuce leaves, wash and spin if necessary, then tip into a large food bag and chill until ready to serve.

Reserve three anchovy fillets for the dressing, and separate out the others, ready for serving.

To make the dressing, put everything into a blender from the garlic to the Worcestershire sauce. Blitz until smooth and creamy, then slowly, with the blades still running, trickle in the remaining 150ml oil to a smooth emulsion. Add some hot water to thin the dressing down a little so it mixes into the leaves nicely.

When ready to serve, divide the leaves between six medium-sized plates. Trickle over the dressing, and scatter on the bread cubes, anchovies and crispy bacon. Top each serving with parmesan shavings.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Gordon Ramsay, The Times, London, UK, October 3, 2007

1165. CHICKEN and BACON CAESAR SALAD

serves two


4 rindless streaky bacon rashers
225 grams bag ready-to-eat Caesar salad (which includes croûtons, dressing)
1 ripe avocado
2 cooked chicken breasts , any skin and bones removed

Stir fry the bacon in a frying pan for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove, then sprinkle the croûtons into the fat in the pan and toss over a medium heat for a minute or two to give them flavour and crisp them up. Divide the leaves between 2 plates. Halve the avocado and dig out the stone; peel and cut into chunks and scatter over the leaves. Tear the chicken into pieces on top. Finally, snap the bacon into chunky pieces over the chicken and top with the croûtons. Drizzle the dressing over the whole salad and finish with a good dusting of parmesan and a grind of pepper.


courtesy of: Good Food magazine, June 2002

100. CAESAR SALAD SOUP with BACON FOAM

yields 4 servings


Soup:
2 heads romaine lettuce
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 sprigs thyme
1 clove garlic, sliced
½ bulb fennel, sliced
1 stick celery, sliced
½ onion, sliced
2 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese, grated

Bacon foam:
2 cups chicken stock
5 slices bacon
3 teaspoons cream
Salt and pepper, to taste


For soup:
Cook romaine lettuce in boiling water until soft, approximately 2 – 3 minutes, shock in ice water and drain. In a medium saucepot, heat vegetable oil and cook thyme, garlic, fennel, celery, and onion until soft. Add chicken stock, salt and pepper to taste, and the blanched romaine lettuce. Pass mixture through a chinoise (fine sieve) and stir in Parmesan cheese at the end.

For bacon foam:
In a sauté pan, render fat from bacon. Remove the bacon and reserve the fat in the pan. In the same pan, add the chicken stock, cream and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil and whisk into foam.

To serve, ladle soup into individual bowls, top with bacon foam and serve immediately.


courtesy of: Chef Noriyuki Sugie, Asiate, New York, New York