Avocado and Baby Gem Salad with a Warm Pancetta and Mustard Dressing

We've had some lovely salad weather these past few days, albeit not as horribly warm and humid as the South East has had. I'm not complaining . . . I hate hot and humid together. I don't find that pleasant at all.



I will take sunny and warm over that any day of the week!!



Today for our lunch I made us a delicious salad, using Baby Gem Lettuce from our garden . . . with some fresh yellow and red cherry tomatoes and a fantastic hot bacon and mustard dressing.



Add to that some creamy sliced ripe avocado and a few chives and we had a fabulous salad that was tasty, colourful and quite filling!



Of course the Toddster wasn't overly happy about the idea of having salad for lunch. Meh! You can please em all!
It didn't stop him from scarfing it all down though.



The bacony mustardy dressing was delicious sopped up with some crusty bread. The tomatoes get a bit squidgy too, but still firm. Don't overheat them . . . you don't want them to cook, just release a bit of their juices. Oh so scrummy!!



Quick, healthy, colourful and very, very tasty!



*Avocado and Baby Gem Salad with a Warm Pancetta and Mustard Dressing*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Quick to make and very summery! We had this with some crusty bread. Perfect!

4 TBS olive oil
8 rashers of good quality back bacon, cut into small cubes, or the equivalent
in Pancetta lardons
16 cherry tomatoes, halved (I used a mix of yellow and red)
2 TBS red wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp grainy Dijon mustard
2 ripe avocados, halved, stoned and sliced
1 TBS coarsely chopped chives
2 baby gem lettuces, washed, dried and leaves separated
4 TBS toasted pinenuts

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon or lardons and cook, stirring occasionally until crisp. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil and mustards. Allow to simmer for several minutes. Arrange the lettuce and sliced avocado on a large platter. Stir the pinenuts and chives into the warm bacon and tomato dressing and pour over top of the salad. Serve immediately!

Bacon Gruyere Bread

It has been said that everything tastes better with bacon . . . small bits of it's crisp smokiness can add a special touch to most things. Sauces taste richer. Most Sandwiches are scrummier!



Peppered and Brown Sugared Bacon is a real breakfast treat . . . and scotch pancakes just wouldn't taste the same without a few rashers of crisp bacon and some sweet syrup.



It has a unique richness that lends itself to most flavours . . . sweet, savoury, sour . . . A Caesar Salad wouldn't be half as good without crispy bacon bits sprinkled over the top, nor would a plain baked potato. And a good old morning fry up is nothing without the bacon. You can take away my sausage, but please leave the bacon alone!



Liver and bacon, filet steaks wrapped in bacon, bacon and cheddar quiches, bacon popcorn and potato crisps, peanut butter and bacon sandwiches . . . Maple Bacon Icecream . . . oh and let's not forget the luxuriously moreish Bacon Brittle!



I present to you here today another bacon temptress . . . Bacon Gruyere Bread. Oh yes . . . it's moreishly scrummy.

Imagine a fresh loaf of French bread, sliced and stuffed with a mustard and spring onion butter and slices of gruyere cheese between each slice . . . and then wrapped in bacon . . . smoked, streaky bacon . . . and then baked until the bacon is crisp just so . . . the cheese is gooey and stringy and buttery . . .



Each bite is sooooo deliciously different. Perfect to go with your soups and salads . . . or chili or ribs or . . . well, just about anything!



I know . . . your lives will never be quite the same again will they. This kicks Garlic Bread's arse right out of the playground!

Are you salivating yet?



*Bacon Gruyere Bread*
Makes one loaf, serves 10
Printable Recipe

A savoury and jazzed up French Bread that goes great with soup and salads!

1 (20 inch) loaf of French or Italian Bread
5.2 ounces softened butter (2/3 cup)
3 spring onions, chopped
4 tsp Dijon mustard
5 slices of gruyere cheese
5 rashers of streaky smoked bacon (rindless)

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set aside.

Cut the bread into 1 inch thick slices, leaving them attached at the bottom. In a bowl combine the butter, onions and mustard. Spread this mixture on both sides of each slice of bread. Cut each cheese slice diagonally into triangles. Place one between each slice as well. Cut the bacon rashers in half lengthwise and then in half crosswise. You will then have 20 slices. Place the Loaf on the foil lined baking sheet. Drape the bacon over top of theloaf, making sure there is a slice on each piece of bread.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp. Break the slices apart to serve.

Baked Potato and Leek Soup

Potato and Leek soup is a real favourite over here in the UK. Thick and creamy and filled with lovely leeks and potatoes. Filling and delicious.

I like to put my own spin on things though, and so today I made a baked potato and leek soup.



Lovely leeks, softened in lots of butter along with some garlic . . .
and then simmered in rich chicken stock. Blitzed with a whole baked potato until smooth and creamy . . .



Rich and tasty cheddar cheese is then stirred in to melt, along with some milk and sour cream. What could get any better . . .



Nothing . . . well, not unless you consider adding a topping of more grated cheddar cheese, some chopped spring onion and fried bacon . . .

Everything tastes better with bacon, does it not!!!!





*Baked Potato and Leek Soup*
Serves 4

A delicious version of the always popular leek and potato soup!

2 medium baking potatoes (about 8 ounces each)
4 TBS unsalted butter
2 medium leeks (white and light green parts) washed, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pint of chicken stock (2 cups)
1 pint water (2 cups)
4 ounces milk (1/2 cup)
250ml of sour cream (1/2 cup)
4 thick slices of dry cure smoked streaky bacon, cut into 1/2 inch dice
4 ounces of strong cheddar cheese, grated
2 spring onions, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Wash the potatoes really well, pick with a fork in several places, and then place into the heated oven right on the rack and bake for about 1 hour, until tender. Let cool completely.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic. Cook ,stirring occasionally until softened, about 10 minutes. Season with some salt. Add the chicken stock and water. Simmer until the leeks are very tender, about 20 minutes.

While the leeks are cooking fry the bacon pieces in a skillet over medium heat, until crisp and browned. Drain well on paper towelling and set aside.

Cut one of the baked potatoes in half lengthwise and then into quarters. Remove the skin and chop it up. Set the potato flesh aside for later. Cut the remaining potato into chunks. Add this along with the skin of the other potato to the leeks. Puree the soup with an immersion (stick) blender until smooth. Whisk in the milk, sour cream and half of the cheese, whisking until the cheese is melted. Cut the potato flesh into 1/2 inch chunks and add to the soup. Taste and adjust seasoning as required with salt and pepper. Keep warm, but do not allow to boil.

Serve hot and ladled into heated bowls. Sprinkle with the remaining cheddar, some of the bacon bits and some spring onion.

Bacon-Wrapped Scallops

I've always loved entertaining, but especially love easy entertaining. I've learned from trial and error to always make something fresh and simple, and something you've made before! These bacon-wrapped scallops make for great finger food. you can make them ahead of time and reheat them at the last minute and switch the ingredients around. You can use pancetta in place of the bacon and dates or figues instead of the scallops. Any crispy and salty cured meat will pair wonderfully with, in this case tender scallops, or fruity and soft fruit.

The only thing about this recipe is that because it is simple, the ingredients have to be really good .. so try to get the bacon from a good deli, and the scallops as fresh as can be.

Recipe: (for 12 scallops)
12 scallops
12 thin slices of bacon
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
12 wooden toothpicks, soaked in water for 20 minutes

Set your oven on broil. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Season the scallops with salt and pepper. Tightly wrap them with a piece of bacon and seal by inserting a toothpick to hold the bacon together. Place on a bacon sheet and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 6-10 minutes, depending on the size of the scallops. Remove when cooked through. If the toothpicks burn a little while in the oven, gently remove them once out of the oven, and replace with new ones.