Bacon Nation: 125 Irresistible Recipes (10 page)

Dealing with the Rind and Slab

 

To remove the rind from slab bacon, place the slab on a cutting board and insert the edge of a sharp chef’s knife under the rind at one corner. Move the blade of the knife back and forth under the rind, holding the knife parallel to the cutting board and slicing just above the bacon meat from one end of the slab to the other. Once the rind has started to be separated from the meat, you can help the process along by using one hand to pull the rind away from the slab as you slice.

Cut the slab into cubes by first cutting it into slices ½ to ¾ inch thick. Stack two to three slices and cut them crosswise ¼ to ½ inch wide. If some of them seem too thick, cut them in half. Repeat with the remaining bacon slices.

When cooking slab bacon, while we cherish the flavor of rendered bacon drippings, most of us would prefer not to find solid cubes of bacon fat floating in our soup. After browning cubes of raw bacon cut from a slab, you will most likely end up with a few that are only fat with no meat. We recommend you remove and discard any solid cubes of bacon fat that remain in the skillet or pan after browning.

Serves 4 to 5

By default, we usually think of bacon as a way to add extra heft to already hearty soups, but the truth is that more delicate recipes can also be transformed by bacon. Here’s a delicious soup, loaded with fresh vegetables, so you can feel nutritionally “moral” with each slurp. Finishing it with a pistou of basil, tomatoes, and floral olive oil makes it even lighter. The puree of tomatoes and garlic creates the satisfying mouthfeel of cream . . . with no cream.

5 slices bacon, cut into ¼-inch pieces

1 medium-size onion, diced

2 large carrots, trimmed, peeled, and sliced crosswise into ¼-inch-thick rounds

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 cups low-sodium chicken stock

1 medium-size baking potato, peeled and diced (about 1⅓ cups)

1 small zucchini, trimmed and diced (about 1⅓ cups)

2 large ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped

½ cup coarsely chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1
Cook the bacon in a medium-size saucepan or pot over medium heat until lightly browned and most of the fat is rendered, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving the bacon fat in the pan.

2
Place the pan over medium heat, add the onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened and lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes.

3
Stir in the carrots and half of the garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and 2 cups of water. Cover the pan, increase the heat to high, and let come to a boil. Then, reduce the heat as necessary and let the stock mixture simmer, uncovered, until the carrots soften, about 5 minutes.

4
Add the potato, zucchini, half of the chopped tomatoes, and half of the drained bacon. Cover the pan, increase the heat to high, and let come to a boil. Then, reduce the heat as necessary and let the soup simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are cooked and the flavors blend, about 20 minutes, skimming any fat or foam that rises to the surface with a large spoon.

5
While the soup cooks, combine the remaining garlic, the remaining chopped tomato, and the basil and olive oil in a blender or a mini food processor and process until smooth. Set the tomato-basil pistou aside.

6
When the soup is done, taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as necessary. Remove the soup from the heat and swirl the tomato-basil pistou into the pan. Ladle the soup into individual bowls, sprinkling each serving with the remaining pieces of bacon.

Serves 4 to 5

Mushroom barley soup, usually made with beef flanken, is one of the glories of kosher cuisine. In our nonkosher homage we add the flavors of bacon and dried porcini mushrooms to amp up the savory umami taste. The result is a supremely satiating soup. The woodiness of the sherry picks up the earthiness of the mushrooms. The barley has the slippery mouthfeel of pasta with the toothsome bite of real whole grain. We had some spinach in the fridge, tossed it in, and it worked great.

4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into ¼-inch pieces

1 medium-size onion, finely chopped

1 pound cremini, baby portobellos, or white mushrooms, or any combination of them, stems trimmed, mushrooms wiped clean and sliced into ½-inch-thick pieces

½ ounce (about ¼ cup) dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed and finely chopped

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

5 tablespoons dry sherry

4 cups low-sodium beef stock

2 large carrots, trimmed, peeled, and chopped into ½-inch pieces

½ cup pearl barley, rinsed

1 bay leaf

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 packed cups (about 2 ounces) rinsed chopped spinach

1
Cook the bacon in a soup pot or large saucepan over medium heat until browned but not too crisp and most of the fat is rendered, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Add the onion and cook over medium-high heat until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the fresh and dried mushrooms and the garlic and cook until the mushrooms release their liquid, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 3 tablespoons of the sherry and let boil for about 1 minute to reduce the liquid slightly.

2
Stir in the beef stock, carrots, barley, bay leaf, and 3 cups of water. Cover the pot and let the soup come to a boil. Then, reduce the heat as necessary and let the soup simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until the barley is barely tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3
Add the thyme and the remaining 2 tablespoons of sherry and let simmer until the flavors blend, about 3 minutes. Add the spinach, increase the heat to high, cover the pot, and cook the spinach until just wilted, about 1 minute. Remove and discard the bay leaf before serving the soup.

Serves 6

These three Bs do not refer to the mélange of beans that often takes the place of culinary inspiration in bean soups. If one bean doesn’t make your palate dance, why compound the crime? But bacon, used three ways, wakes up beans in this one-pot meal. The bacon fat rendered at the beginning of the cooking process is used to sauté the savory mix of onion, carrots, and fennel. Then, the slab of bacon imparts flavor to the cooking liquid during the 40 minutes it takes for the vegetables to simmer, and we add cubes of slab bacon so that tender pieces of pork float in the finished dish. If you are feeling molto toscano, look for Tuscan kale. Its tender blue-green leaves have a more elegant taste than its cousin, the more common curly kale. But either kind is acceptable.

3 cups cooked cannellini beans (see
page 63
), or 2 cans (15½ ounces each) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

8 ounces slab bacon, rind removed (see
page 57
)

Olive oil, if necessary

2 medium-size carrots, trimmed, peeled, and chopped

1 large onion, chopped (about 1½ cups)

1 cup chopped fennel or celery

3 medium-size cloves garlic, minced

2 cups peeled butternut squash, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 medium-size waxy potato, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes (about 1 cup)

1½ cups peeled and seeded diced fresh ripe tomato (about 2 large tomatoes)

3 cups low-sodium chicken stock

2 bay leaves

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt

1 small bunch kale, tough stems and ribs removed and discarded, leaves chopped into bite-size pieces and rinsed (about 5 cups)

Garlic–Rosemary Oil Bread Slices (recipe follows)

1
Place 1 cup of the cooked beans and ½ cup of water in a food processor and process until nearly smooth, 10 to 12 pulses. Set the pureed beans aside.

2
Cut the slab bacon crosswise into 2 equal pieces. Place the 2 pieces, fat side down, in a large deep saucepan or pot over medium heat and cook until the bacon begins to brown and some of the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking the bacon until it is browned on all sides and has rendered about 2 tablespoons of fat, 20 to 25 minutes. If necessary pour off enough fat or add enough olive oil to the pan to measure 2 tablespoons.

3
Transfer the bacon to a plate and heat the bacon fat in the pan over medium heat until it shimmers, about 1 minute. Add the carrots, onion, and fennel or celery, stirring to coat the vegetables with the bacon fat. Cook until the onion softens, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

4
Return the bacon to the pan. Stir in the butternut squash, potato, tomatoes, pureed beans, chicken stock, bay leaves, and 2½ cups of water. Season with pepper to taste. Cover the pan and let come to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer, partially covered, until the squash and potatoes soften, about 20 minutes, occasionally skimming any fat or foam that rises to the surface with a large spoon.

5
Stir the remaining whole beans into the pan and let simmer until the flavors blend, about 10 minutes. Remove both pieces of slab bacon from the pan. Cut one of the slabs into ¼- to ½-inch cubes and add the cubes to the soup. (You can save the other piece of bacon to eat with your morning eggs or to add to a skillet of stir-fried vegetables, if you wish.)

6
Taste for seasoning, adding salt and more pepper as necessary. The soup can be made up to this point and refrigerated, covered, overnight. Reheat the soup over medium heat before proceeding. Stir in the kale and let simmer until the kale is tender but still a vibrant green, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaves before serving the soup with the Garlic–Rosemary Oil Bread Slices.

Garlic-Rosemary Oil Bread Slices

Makes 6 to 8 slices

The savory infusion of garlic and rosemary on toasted crusty bread adds a wonderful accent to hearty soups.

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 large cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed with the flat side of a chef’s knife

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

6 to 8 thick slices country-style or crusty Tuscan-style bread

1
Heat a small skillet over medium heat, then add the olive oil and garlic. When the garlic turns a light brown, after about 1 minute, add the rosemary sprigs. Cook until the rosemary leaves become fragrant, about 1 minute, turning the rosemary sprigs in the oil a few times. Discard the garlic and rosemary. Set the garlic-rosemary oil aside.