BLT Panzanella
We sliced the ciabatta into large cubes -- probably just more than 1" square.
Meredith Shanley calls for dry toasting, and after just a few minutes in the oven, the bread was just that: dry and toasted.
Although the recipe called for slab bacon, we used very thick cut, and it worked well.
The bacon cooked super quickly. Be sure to reserve the fat for the dressing!
We diced the tomatoes to about the same size as the bread.
The dressing uses bacon fat, olive oil, and mayonnaise, and the three fats result in a delicate, creamy dressing.
We added the dressing and seasoned the salad before adding the arugula.
The arugula added a nice peppery flavor to the salad.
Handsome. The end.
Author Notes: I loved the BLT's my mom made me when I was little, with tomatoes fresh from her garden. They were still warm from the sun, and when combined with the salty bacon and crispy lettuce, along with the crumbly white toast (what is it that's so comforting about toasted bread?) and a healthy dollop of mayo, it was like summer on a plate. Living in Manhattan, Greenmarket tomatoes are the closest I get to tomatoes from the garden. My husband wanted grilled steak for dinner, and I wanted a BLT. So I made the BLT into a side dish and we both got our way. Ahhh, marriage and the art of compromise... —Meredith Shanley
Food52 Review: What struck us immediately about Meredith Shanley's recipe was its cleverness. That and the fact that it calls for bacon. In a smart maneuver, Meredith not only uses cubed bacon in the salad, but she saves some of the drippings for the dressing, a bright lemony affair made creamy with Dijon mustard and a touch of mayo. The juices from the tomatoes meld with the dressing, helping to make a little go a long way, and peppery arugula keeps the salad from being too rich. Resist the temptation to use too much bread, or the salad won't be balanced the way it should be. - A&M —The Editors
Serves: 4
For the Salad
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1/2
large loaf ciabatta bread, cubed
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3
small to medium sized tomatoes, largely diced
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3
ounces slab bacon, cut into cubes
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3
handfuls arugula, roughly chopped
Creamy Lemon Dressing
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1/2
lemon, juiced
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zest of 1/4 lemon
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1
teaspoon Dijon mustard
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1
teaspoon leftover bacon drippings
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3
tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
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2
teaspoons mayonnaise
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Salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a single layer on a cookie sheet, place cubed bread. Toast in oven until golden and dried through completely.
- In a medium sized saute pan, cook bacon until slightly crispy and nicely browned. Remove to paper towels, reserve 1 tsp drippings.
- Combine the dijon, lemon juice, zest, salt and pepper to taste.
- Whisk together bacon drippings and olive oil, then add in a slow stream to Dijon mixture.
- Once dressing is emulsified, whisk in mayonnaise until fully incorporated and slightly creamy.
- Toss tomatoes, bacon, bread, salt and fresh cracked black pepper with dressing.
- Just before serving, toss in arugula. Check for seasoning, serve.
- Your Best Tomato Recipe Contest Winner!
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What a delicious salad! I will be making this all summer long.
This was so good. I was so nervous to make this because I am not a fan of "soggy" bread. But this was perfect. It wasn't soggy at all, just delicious.
Loooved this salad! I added just a bit of honey into the dressing to take the tang out. Great summer dish.
Tasted the dressing when I made it and thought I made a mistake cause it was so tangy. But balanced so well when i tried it with the arugula! Awesome recipe!! Thanks!
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Ray, wonderful idea to toast the bread slightly!
Will you be my woman? As a gay man, I don't often say this. This salad is a total home run. The dressing is lemony and creamy and is the perfect complement to the arugula and bacon. My only suggestion is to rip the bread into small chunks and toss it with a little olive oil and garlic and toast is lightly...so that it still is a bit chewy. Wow!
Loved this!! My bread cubes were a little too big, will make them smaller next time. Also, I let this one sit too long in the dressing before serving and my big cubes of bread got a little too soggy. But it didnt really matter - the dressing and bacon were still delicious!
Incredible. Rich, decadent, yet light and refreshing.
Just great! Made this for close friends, last night. We get a wonderful bacon from a smokehouse in NH, so just used large pieces of their sliced bacon. Big hit!
This was so good. I think this will go into heavy rotation at our place come next summer :)
A superb salad: fun to prepare, well balanced, colorful, and exceptionally tasty! Yum!
Leslie
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