Category: bacon

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bacon food lettuce salad tomato turkey

caesar salad

caesar salad with turkey and bacon

One of my absolute favourites. Regular readers may have twigged that I adore dishes that totally celebrate their ingredients, and allow each one to stand up and be tasted whilst adding to each other simultaneously. This is my take on a classic Caesar salad.

I hope Mr. Cardini will excuse me altering his recipe, but his core flavours are still there. As our house is veering away from raw egg at the moment, I can’t get the oil / egg emulsion so instead the sauce is a blend of garlic, good olive oil, white wine vinegar, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and white wine vinegar. I add a few flakes of parmesan to help give the sauce some thickness, where the egg usually would help. I whizz all this up in a blender.

I’ve used turkey here, simply because it was on offer, which is griddled alongside some bacon until those pretty brown stripes appear. When done I whip those off to one side and then lay some thinly sliced bread drizzled with oil on the pan, soaking up meat juices and charring slightly. I then chop some cos lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes and toss this with the Caesar sauce. The rest of the ingredients go in, then top with parmesan. Crunchy, satisfying and tasty.

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bacon chicken food red cabbage

chicken wrapped in bacon with red cabbage and champ

Last week I watched a great series from the wonderful Hardeep Singh Kohli, Chefs and the City, where norms bring their signature dish to battle against a pro chef. One guy lost in a brazen fashion, daring to take on a French chef at something right up their street. He was destroyed, but there was something promising in his quail wrapped in bacon. I decided to adapt it to my own means.

I started with chicken breasts, skin-on, seasoned well. I then lifted the fillet and filled with a generous splurge of garlic Philadelphia before folding back over. Then the whole breast was wrapped in two pieces of bacon, seasoned again and brushed with olive oil. On a baking tray it went, into a 180 oven for about half an hour til golden brown. I made sure it rested for at least five mins before serving.

The red cabbage was proper rich: butter, brown sugar and red wine vinegar melted together then poured over the shredded cabbage and bunged in the oven.

Meanwhile, some excessive mash: potatoes boiled to tenderness of course, but on the side I was allowing some leftover double cream to infuse on a gentle heat with half an onion, some nutmeg and some peppercorns. When the potatoes were ready and drained I added butter and some of the cream, then whipped the potatoes with a fork (smoother paste through the tines you see) until they were slick and floury. I chucked in some spring onions for good measure, to give some acidity through the richness. I couldn’t resist adding a few fried crispy bacon bits on top for fun.

I sliced the chicken on the diagonal and plated it up – admittedly I wish I’d served it with a little more thought so it wasn’t three dollops of things, but it was one of the best things I’ve ever made. Really top-grade stuff.

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bacon food halloumi pineapple prunes

devils on horseback and cheese & pineapple

Summoned to a classy 70s party, I was asked to provide some canapés and I do love a challenge. The host was some mean foodie himself, so I can’t just roll up with a tube of Pringles and Iced Gems. My mind starts grinding back to the old clichés: prawn cocktail, melon and ham, glacé cherries… a little browsing and I’ve got it. Abigail’s flashback Devils on Horseback. The idea sounds disgusting, wrapping stodgy prunes in bacon. But I hope with a few touches I can elevate them a bit. I marinate the tinned prunes overnight in whisky, then stone them. In the cavity I spoon mango chutney. Then they’re wrapped in bacon.

That can’t be it, need something else too. I’m sure there’s something I can do with cheese and pineapple but I can’t quite place it and I want a replacement for the pineapple. I decide to caramelise the pineapple based on an old Gary Rhodes recipe that I’d looked at often but never done. Taking inspiration from that I fry the pineapple in some port until ruby red, and then a little brown sugar to up the ooze. So that’s the pineapple done, what else? And then it’s obvious, a different cheese other than cheddar. I pick salty, waxy halloumi as a counterpoint to the sharp and sweet pineapple. Impale with cocktail sticks on to half a melon, and we’re away. I’m very pleased with the results. They certainly disappeared quick amongst the flares – congratulations to Jenny for getting the last one.
(I’d love pictures but foolishly they were eaten before I could snap!)
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bacon food mushroom pasta

pea, bacon and mushroom pasta

Here’s a mouthful. A little of everything in one bowl, quick and tasty.

I got some spaghetti on to boil whilst the pan business goes on. A quick frying of some bacon in a pan, and then some frozen peas and sliced chestnut mushrooms. Whilst that fries up I took a trip to the windowbox to collect some woody, aromatic thyme. I think it’s my favourite herb, so robust and penetrating, leaving a comforting note. I chuck a few leaves in with everything else.
Pasta’s about done now, so I drain that and chuck it in the pan with some creme fraiche and lemon juice. A quick season, a sloosh around for a couple of minutes, and in a bowl it goes. Instant and tasty.
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