Braised Vegetables with Bacon

Continuing to post some of my favorite recipes, this particular side dish is a simple one from Mark Bittman‘s book, Food Matters. I love this recipe because it is quick, easy and completely adaptable to almost any vegetable. Just throw whatever vegetables you have in the pot together to create a unique side dish.

Even picky eaters will enjoy this dish because everything tastes better with bacon in it. If you don’t have bacon, though, or you’re looking for a change of pace, you can substitute prosciutto or pancetta.

Braised Vegetables with Bacon

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lg. onion, sliced
• ¼ lb. chopped bacon
• Salt and pepper
• 2 lbs. any vegetable (alone or in combination)
• 2 cups stock, wine or water
• ½ cup chopped parsley or other herbs

Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a Dutch oven and turn the heat to medium. When hot, add the onions and bacon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to color, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down a bit and keep cooking, stirring once in a while, until the color deepens, another 5 minutes or so. Remove everything with a slotted spoon.

Trim and peel the vegetables as needed, and cut them into 2-inch chunks. Return the pot to medium-high heat, add the remaining oil, and when it’s hot, add the vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown a bit. Return the onion mixture to the pot, add the liquid and bring to a boil. Lower the heat so that the mixture gently bubbles, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, anywhere from 5-30 minutes. Garnish with parsley or other chopped herbs to serve.

Adding Flavor to Simple Recipes

Well, it’s clear that I haven’t had a chance to post much here recently, and I haven’t been doing many cooking challenges lately either. Sometimes life gets too hectic. With that in mind, I am returning my focus to simple recipes, and I will post a bunch of them here.

By simple recipes, I mean recipes that have only a handful of ingredients, no more than five total, including salt, pepper and oil. Or quick but complete dinners that you can put together in one pan. These are the kinds of recipes that you will memorize after making them two or three times, so that you can easily whip one up on a weeknight even if you’re dead tired, or you can pull out when you’re not sure what to make with that ingredient you picked up on sale.

These recipes are great to add to your repertoire, but the problem is that they can become boring after a while. That’s why it’s a good idea to have a ready-made arsenal to add pizzazz to any recipe. You can vary the flavors depending on your mood and what you have available.

Here is my list of sure-fire ways to quickly and easily boost the flavor quotient in a simple recipe:

• Garnish it with fresh herbs after cooking.
• Sprinkle in a little citrus juice or vinegar at the end of cooking.
• Add minced chiles or red pepper flakes for heat.
• Substitute heavy cream, sour cream, plain yogurt or melted butter for some of the oil.
• Sprinkle with grated Parmesan or other cheese or with crumbled bacon (you can substitute bacon grease for some of the oil as well).
• Mix in slow-roasted tomatoes, roasted red peppers, pesto or other ready-made ingredients from the pantry.
• Substitute or add similar vegetables.

As I post some of my favorite tried-and-true simple recipes, I’ll provide examples of these flavor boosters. But never be afraid to experiment. Cooking is more fun that way!

A New Take on Tuna Salad

My cooking challenge for last week was to prepare a fresh and flavorful fish dish. My husband wanted this dish to reflect the bounty of the season and to be tasty, because he generally thinks fish is bland. (I don’t agree, but that’s another story.) He suggested a flavorful sauce.

The combination of fresh and flavorful got my mind working, and I came up with a salad. But not an ordinary salad. Rather, I wanted a composed dish that would showcase tasty produce surrounding a really nice piece of fish, all dressed with a tasty vinaigrette, which works really well on both fish and vegetables. I hit upon doing a version of a salade Niçoise, but with a twist: no olives (because I don’t really like olives). Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home has a tuna Niçoise recipe that is both gorgeous and easy to make; that would be my template. Leafing through Ad Hoc at Home‘s many vinaigrette recipes, I spotted the one I wanted: bacon vinaigrette! The bacon would taste great on a thick tuna steak and on the vegetables I wanted to accompany it: new potatoes, green beans, cherry tomatoes and avocado.

The vegetable platter.

The best part about this dish is that it is very easy to prepare. The most important step is the shopping, as this dish relies on finding the freshest, tastiest produce and cut of tuna available. It can also adapt to the season. I suggest visiting the farmers market or local co-op and buying whatever looks fresh and beautiful. As for cooking the vegetables, I simply blanched the green beans and steamed the potatoes until they were tender. I then cut everything up and apportioned it on a pretty platter.

As for the tuna, this challenge gave me a chance to explore the best local markets for buying fish. While my regular co-op does a great job of supplying local, organic chicken, bacon and sausage, it doesn’t stock a large selection of fish, and they never have tuna. The grocery store I usually shop at has a fish counter, but I am suspicious of their sources. Their tuna in particular often tastes a little fishy, and it’s a little too red, if you know what I mean.

That meant I had to go further afield. Because I left my shopping so late in the day, I chose to head over to Whole Foods rather than trying out Fresh Market, which is a little farther away. I normally avoid Whole Foods, because the experience of shopping there could easily be the tenth circle of Hell, in my opinion. Starting with the parking lot, which is poorly designed and always jammed with cars fighting for the spaces. Once you’re inside, the food is so gorgeous and artfully laid out, but you have to contend with people jamming the narrow aisles with huge carts and cutting across your path. I feel like a bumper car whenever I go inside. I could stand it just enough to go back to the fish counter and pick out a gigantic, gorgeous tuna steak. I couldn’t even handle ducking over to the bakery for a loaf of bread before my patience snapped. (I do have to give kudos to Whole Foods’ cashiers and fishmongers, who are just as friendly as they can be, unlike their clientele.) The trip was worth it, though, because just take a look at this fish.

The tuna.

Fish this good only requires a little salt and pepper for seasoning and a brief pan-searing in a thin film of olive oil. To judge doneness, watch the edges. You want just a thin sear on both sides. Remove it from the pan and slice thinly for serving. A one-pound steak was plenty for my husband and I, with leftovers. (My toddler refused to partake, of course.)

All that’s left is the dressing, which is also very simple. For two servings, cut 2 slices of bacon into 1-inch pieces. Fry over medium heat until crisp on the outside, then transfer to paper towels to drain, reserving the bacon fat in the pan. Combine 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, and ¼ cup olive oil with salt and pepper to taste in a blender. Pour off the bacon fat into this mixture and blend until it is well emulsified. Stir in the bacon pieces and spoon the vinaigrette over the vegetables and fish to serve.

The whole salad.

I feel like this wasn’t too much of a challenge, since it was so easy to prepare. But I think this only goes to show that even the simplest dishes can be the most rewarding, if you take the trouble to find truly excellent ingredients. I would definitely make this salad again and again.

For the next challenge, I am tasked with making an Asian noodle dish. Since I’m still on a light and flavorful kick, I’m thinking Japanese. I hope you’ll join me.

Pasta with Bacon, Spinach and Pine Nuts

I think it’s important to eat as many vegetables as possible, but I don’t especially like making side dishes. Especially on a weeknight, when I want to get dinner on the table fast and not have to wash too many dishes. That’s why I like one-pot meals so much.

Often I’ll look for creative ways to combine a main dish and side dish into one. Last night I was planning to make a very simple pasta dish with bacon, garlic and red pepper flakes, plus a side dish of sauteed spinach and pine nuts. As I was cooking, it occurred to me that I could save myself a pan and some time by sauteing the spinach with the pasta sauce.

This is very fast-cooking dish that can be made in the time it takes to boil the pasta. First saute some minced bacon over medium heat until crisp. Add a little minced garlic and hot pepper flakes, and saute just a minute, until the garlic turns golden. Put in the spinach and stir to coat. Let the spinach wilt, adding a little of the pasta cooking water. Stir in the cooked pasta, adding a little more cooking water if necessary to help the sauce adhere. Sprinkle with a generous amount of grated Parmesan cheese and some toasted pine nuts to serve.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Bacon and Fried Egg

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Bacon and Fried Egg

This sandwich makes my husband lose his senses. I only make it for him once a year, on Father’s Day, which I’m sure you’ll understand once you look at the recipe. It’s not exactly the most healthy of breakfasts, but it is delicious!

The recipe comes from Sara Foster’s Casual Cooking, but the recipe is so simple that you’ll probably memorize it after making it once. There are a lot of steps, though, so make as much ahead as you can, and then assemble and grill the sandwiches right before serving.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Bacon and Fried Egg

Time to make: ~30 minutes
Yields: 1 sandwich

• 2 slices bacon
• 1 egg
• 2 slices any kind of bread
• butter
• cheddar cheese, sliced

Fry the bacon until crispy. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Wipe out the pan.

Fry the egg in the same pan as the bacon to desired doneness. It is best to leave the yolk a little runny, as it makes the sandwich that much more delicious.

Heat a flat griddle over medium-high. Butter one side of each piece of bread. Assemble the sandwich with the cheese, egg and bacon, buttered sides out. Place the sandwich on the hot griddle and cook until well browned. Flip carefully and cook the other side. Serve right away.

Notes: If you are making several sandwiches, you will have to lower the heat between sandwiches or they will start to burn before the cheese gets melty.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Egg Sandwich Survey: Fried or Scrambled? (thekitchn.com)
• Grilled Cheese and 30 Slices of Bacon at Sonic (with video) (bacontoday.com)
• More like thrilled cheese (canada.com)
• Top Five: Ways to Eat a Fried Egg (thekitchn.com)

Green Beans with Bacon and Sage

Image via Wikipedia

This is a super-simple side that is also delicious. Try it alongside any Italian-style dish. I enjoyed it with mushroom-stuffed ravioli in a simple tomato sauce. To be really authentic, you could substitute pancetta for the bacon, of course, but sometimes we must make do with what we have on hand. Still, as they say, bacon makes everything taste better.

Green Beans with Bacon and Sage

Time to make: ~15 minutes
Yields: 2 servings (doubles easily)

• ½ lb. green beans, trimmed
• 1 slice bacon
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• pepper to taste
• handful fresh sage leaves, sliced thinly

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. (If you are making pasta as well, you can make double use of the water.) Boil the green beans 4-6 minutes, until they are tender-crisp. Drain.

Meanwhile, fry the bacon over medium-high until crispy. Let drain on paper towels. These two steps may done ahead of time. Continue with the recipe just before serving.

Heat the olive oil over medium. Add the green beans and crumble the bacon over. Toss to coat with the oil. Season with pepper and mix in the sage. Continue tossing over the heat until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Serve.

Southwestern Scramble with Avocado, Bacon & Cheese

After I set a goal of posting a recipe daily, I skip a day, of course! Well, I never claimed I’d meet the goal, just that I would try to. I got too busy yesterday to post, but last night we had a nice “no time to cook” dinner composed of little bits of leftovers from the rest of the meal’s weeks. On Fridays I like to clean out the fridge before the weekend grocery shopping. I had half a can of diced tomatoes, half a jalapeno, a little diced onion, a couple of slices of bacon, half an avocado and some cheese. Mix all that with some eggs, and the result is a hearty and tasty rancheros-style scramble.

While I made this recipe almost exclusively from leftovers, it is a good enough dish to make on purpose for dinner or a hearty brunch dish. I served it with toast, but it would go especially well with warmed tortillas.

Southwestern Scramble

Serves: 4
Time to make: ~30 minutes

• 4 slices bacon
• 1 sm. onion, diced
• 1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 jalapeno or other green chile, diced (remove the seeds for milder flavor)
• 8 eggs, lightly beaten
• salt, pepper and dried oregano to taste
• 4 oz. Monterey Jack or colby-jack cheese, cubed
• 1 avocado, cubed
• toast or tortillas to serve

In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high until crispy. Set the bacon aside on paper towels to drain. Pour out most of the grease, leaving a thin film to coat the pan.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, tomatoes and chile. Cook until the vegetables have softened and most of the liquid has evaporated. Reduce the heat if necessary to prevent the onion from browning.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Spread the vegetables out in a single layer in the pan and pour in the eggs. Crumbled the bacon over and season with salt, pepper and oregano to taste. Using a rubber spatula, stir and fold the eggs gently until wet curds begin to form. Scatter over the cheese and continue to fold the eggs until the eggs are cooked to the desired doneness and the cheese has begun to melt. Remove from the heat and fold in the avocado. Serve with toast or warmed tortillas.

The Incredible Breakfast Salad

Salade Lyonnaise, also known as the "breakfast salad."

When my husband and I go out to eat at Vin Rouge, our favorite local French bistro, he always gets what he has dubbed “the breakfast salad.” Of course, anyone who is familiar with French cooking would recognize it as the classic Salade Lyonnaise, but with fried potatoes, chewy-crisp lardons and a poached egg on top, all bound by a hot, vinegary dressing, this truly is the salad that aspires to be breakfast.

As with all our favorite dishes, I wanted to see if I could re-create this one at home. I don’t advertise it, but I do take requests, and I like to be able to turn out decent versions of my husband’s favorite dishes on the rare occasions that he asks for them. Fortunately, this dish is not only super-easy to make at home, but it is just as delicious. It is substantial enough to serve as a light supper on its own, or perhaps as an accompaniment to a cup of soup.

I started with a recipe in Mark Bittman‘s The Best Recipes in the World, which is the bible for me when locating any recipe that does not originate in the U.S. Of course, I had to fiddle with the recipe some. The main addition was  cubed, fried potatoes to make the home-cooked version more closely resemble our restaurant favorite.

I really got the eggs right when I made this salad. Poaching eggs is an exercise in patience, and I think the key to success is letting the water slowly come to just a simmer. I also cooked the eggs slowly, spooning some water over them at the end of the cooking time to make sure the whites were thoroughly cooked. I can’t abide poached eggs with runny whites.

Salad Lyonnaise

Yields: 2 servings (but this recipe can be easily doubled)
Time to make: ~30 minutes

What you need:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• ½ lb. potatoes, cubed
• ¼ lb. slab bacon, cubed — I really recommend you seek out the slab bacon for this recipe, as the chewy cubes of fat are part of what makes this salad unique.
• ½ tbsp. shallot or onion, minced
• 3 cups salad greens
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 eggs, poached — click here to learn how to poach eggs

1. Divide the greens among 2 salad plates.
2. Heat the olive oil over medium.
3. Add the bacon and cook until the fat renders, 2 minutes or so.
4. Add the potatoes and onion.
5. Continue cooking until the potatoes are browned and the bacon is crisp, 10-15 minutes.
6. Mix the vinegar and mustard.
7. Add the vinegar mixture to the skillet and bring just a boil, stirring to mix with the bacon and potatoes.
8. Season to taste.
9. Pour the mixture over the greens.
10. Top each portion with a poached egg.

To complete the “breakfast” theme, this would be nice served with a couple of large, freshly toasted croutons.

Easy but Impressive Brunch Dish: Baked Eggs and Roasted Bacon

Baked Eggs and Bacon in Toast Cups

‘Tis the season for brunch. I prefer having a crowd over for brunch rather than dinner. It always seems easier to prepare, because I have more energy in the mornings, and if I’m really thinking ahead, I can do some cooking the day before. And if I’m not thinking ahead, store-bought pastries still work just fine. Put on a big pot of coffee, mix up some mimosas, and everybody is happy.

Whether I’m having a crowd over for brunch or it’s just my hubby and me, baked eggs is one of my favorite dishes to make. It is as easy to make baked eggs for 12 as for 2, and everyone seems to love eggs cooked this way. But since most people don’t eat eggs this way, it seems special, and they don’t realize how simple it is to prepare, so you get points for being a great cook. It’s not at all a fussy dish to make, which is helpful if you’re trying to put together several things for the brunch table. And you can vary it lots of ways, depending on what you have on hand.

For our latest brunch adventure, I baked the eggs in bread cups on top of a little bacon. I got the recipe from My Cooking Quest, only I omitted the cheese. This version wins points for being very easy to cook and serve in quantities. On other occasions, I have baked eggs on top of sauteed onions, sauteed spinach and tomato slices. They are also yummy plain, baked in individual ramekins and served with toast points.

How to Bake Eggs

Plan on 1-2 eggs per person depending on how many other things you are serving.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter a baking dish or ramekins, or make bread cups in a muffin tin (see the link above for the recipe).
3. If desired, add something to the bottom of the dish. You might choose sauteed onions, mushrooms or spinach, fresh chopped tomato and/or slices of cooked bacon.
4. Break an egg into each dish, or make little wells in the vegetables and break the eggs into the wells.
5. Spoon 1 tablespoon of cream over each egg.
6. Season the eggs with salt and pepper.
7. If you like, top the eggs with some grated cheese, such as Parmesan or cheddar (totally optional).
8. Place in the oven and bake for up to 15-20 minutes, checking frequently at the end of the cooking time. You want to remove the eggs when the whites are solidified (opaque) but the yolks are just set.
9. Serve with toast or on top of English muffins.

You can either bake the eggs on top of slices of cooked bacon, as I did, or serve the bacon alongside. My favorite method for cooking bacon is roasting it in the oven. Although it takes longer than pan-frying, this technique contains the mess and results in perfectly straight, crisp slices of bacon.

How to Roast Bacon

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line the bottom of a broiler pan with aluminum foil.
3. Add the boiler pan insert and arrange the bacon in a single layer on top. The fat will drip into the bottom for easy cleanup.
4. Start checking the bacon at 12 minutes for doneness. Let cook until browned and crisp. This may take 20 minutes or more.
5. Drain the bacon on paper towels.

Useful How-tos for Cooking Bacon & Eggs

My how-to articles are among my most popular posts on this blog. I don’t write nearly enough of them, because it’s tough to write a good how-to, especially for tasks I might do all the time and consider second nature.

That’s why I wanted to highlight some great how-tos that I’ve run across recently on my Web travels. Even if you already do these things all the time, they are worth a read — you might learn something new. I did.

• How to separate eggs (from Delicious Durham)
• How to boil eggs (from Simply Recipes)
• How to cook bacon in the oven (from Kitchen Parade)