Tangled Branches: Satiated
riveting tales of how we sustain ourselves
Sunday, September 16, 2007
BHT Bread Salad
No, not the preservative BHT, but Bacon, Herb and Tomato. I needed to use up some leftover odds and ends of various breads that were languishing in the fridge - Afghan bread, baguette, and Tuscan bread (it was too late for the multi-grain boule). The garden is still producing tomatoes, but at a more comfortable pace, and the herbs are spilling over the edges of the paths.
Fry 4 slices of bacon in a large skillet.
Cut leftover bread into largish bite-sized pieces - say, 1" cubes. Slice 2 cloves of garlic thickly.
Remove the bacon to a plate, and spoon off most of the bacon fat. Pour olive oil into the skillet to replace the bacon fat. Think about this for a while. Saute the garlic and bread cubes until the bread is toasty and crunchy, but the centers of the cubes are still soft. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Pour the contents of the skillet into a large bowl (a much larger bowl than you think you'll need).
Dice as many ripe tomatoes as will give you a salad that's mostly bread, but with plenty of tomatoes.
Chop coarsely a mixture of herbs. I used basil, cinnamon basil, red basil, lemon basil, parsley, sweet marjoram and 'Zaatar', but very small amounts of the last two.
Add the tomatoes, herbs, and crumbled bacon to the bread cubes in the bowl. Toss everything together, taste and add salt, pepper, and/or olive oil, as needed. Eat immediately! Before it gets soggy.
Labels: herbs, salad, tomatoes
posted by Entangled at 7:05 AM
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Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Herb Omelette
The luxury of fresh herbs inspired this omelette. I've made this for 2 weekends in a row. Will it be 3?
4 eggs
olive oil/butter
chopped fresh herbs
salt and black pepper to taste
Step 1: Gather fresh herbs. I used about 2 or 3 sprigs of tarragon, 2 or 3 sprigs of chervil, 4 or 5 parsley leaves, and smaller amounts of dill, chives, and lemon basil.
Step 2: Chop the herbs finely.
Step 3: Make an omelette in any way you like. I melt a bit of butter in a 12" non-stick skillet and add a splash of olive oil. The add 4 beaten eggs, and push the cooked egg around a bit to let the uncooked egg run to the bottom of the pan. If I knew how to make an omelette in the classical French manner, I'd do it that way. There's a good description in Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home, but I've never mastered it.
Step 4: When the eggs are almost set, sprinkle the chopped herbs on top, along with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. The amount of herbs after chopping was about 2 to 4 tablespoons. Fold the omelette in thirds, as if folding a letter. This is two servings in my view, so I cut the omelette in half for serving.
Last week, I had some onions I wanted to use up, so I added a small amount of sauteed onions.
posted by Entangled at 5:01 PM
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