What We’re Cooking This Week: BLT Salad

Jim Dixon wrote about food for WW for more than 20 years, but these days most of his time is spent at his olive oil-focused specialty food business Wellspent Market. Jim’s always loved to eat, and he encourages his customers to cook by sending them recipes every week through his newsletter. We’re happy to have him back creating some special dishes just for WW readers.

Homegrown tomato season arrives in late summer here in the Pacific Northwest, and when it does you should be eating as many as you can. (If you’re one of those people who, for some inexplicable reason, don’t like tomatoes, I’m so sorry.) Even if you don’t have the space or inclination to grow your own, farmers markets and even supermarket produce sections offer stacks of tomatoes that aren’t the rock hard, tasteless versions available the rest of the year.

While I can eat my favorite deconstructed tomato sandwich every day, sometimes I want the flavors of a classic BLT. And while the end result is definitely worth the time it takes to cook the bacon, grill the bread in bacon grease, slice and salt the tomatoes, and assemble in the proper order (tomatoes in the middle so they don’t make the bread soggy), the BLT suffers from the same problem of any tomato-heavy sandwich: not enough tomato.

Hence the BLT salad. Basically a BLT in a bowl, it hits all the same flavor notes. The salty, smoky crunch of bacon, tomatoes’ sweet acidity, crispy cool lettuce, soft bread with a subtle toasty edge, and the creamy tang of good mayo that holds it all together. But with more tomato.

Note: This recipe can be customized with more or less bacon, lettuce, or tomato depending on how many eaters you’re feeding. The listed quantities make a salad adequate for 2-3 people, but I can eat the whole thing myself.

Recipe

3-4 good medium tomatoes, about 3 cups chopped

½ lb bacon

½ head iceberg lettuce*

3-4 slices soft bread with a tight crumb*

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons mayo

Kosher-style sea salt to taste

*Crisp romaine lettuce also works. Shokupan, aka Japanese milk bread, or brioche are perfect, but the harder to find Sally Lunn loaf is my favorite (Little T bakery in Portland makes it). If you’re stuck using industrial white bread, look for the thickly sliced Texas toast style.

Cook the bacon to your desired level of crispy. I cut the long slices into shorter pieces, put them in a skillet, and bake at 350F until done, about 15-20 minutes but check often so the bacon doesn’t get overcooked. Remove the slices and pour off all but a tablespoon or so of the grease. Save the extra grease for another use but leave the reserved tablespoon in the skillet. Cut the bacon into bite-sized pieces.

Grill the bread slices in a skillet with some of the extra bacon grease until lightly browned on both sides. Cut into bite-sized pieces.

Deglaze the bacon-cooking skillet with the vinegar, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom. Stir in the sugar and olive oil.

Tear or cut the lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Combine in a large bowl with the tomatoes, bacon, and bread. Add the bacon grease-vinegar mix and toss, then add the mayo and toss again. Taste and add salt if needed.