The Endive Chronicles

You know those days where nothing goes right? Yesterday was one of those days. On a good day my clumsy tendencies dog my steps, not to mention the fact that I am notoriously absent minded so when I am having an off day, it’s incredibly off. All day I was unable to concentrate, my dog and I were the victims of a bark pelting squirrel, I kept spilling on my freshly scrubbed floor, burned my sandwich and dumped wet coffee grounds everywhere: all while being repeatedly buzzed by the cursed Blue Angels*.  Normally a day like this offers a bit of mercy towards the end, just not this day.

I had been craving a whole grain salad for a few days, but given my day I was also in great need of a little comfort food. So I set out to create something comforting to ease me toward the end of this disastrous day. I found comfort in the form of thick cut alder smoked bacon staring me from behind the glass of the butcher’s counter. Soon I was tossing eggs, chevre, smoked almonds and red lettuce into my cart. All the while dreaming of a savory hybrid between lunch and dinner.

When I got back from the market I cooked the wheat berries, drained the garbanzos, fried the bacon, emulsified the dressing and crumbled the chevre. Then it was time to poach the eggs, and this being one of those no good, rotten crummy kind of days I am sure you can guess what happens next.

Poaching an egg is a relatively simple operation provided you have the freshest eggs possible and are on your game. I was not and did not. I ran through the four eggs I had very quickly and the only thing that remained in tact after poaching was the yolk. Normally, I would have gone out on the balcony, shaken my fist at the heavens, plead for mercy, trudge back to the store and begin again. But, it was raining and I had those four perfectly poached yolks, so I decided to take the lazy cholesterol filled way out. So we sat down to eat.

My bacon and egg salad was smoky, crunchy, creamy, chewy with a hint of tang from the vinagrette it was exactly what I was looking for. We felt a bit gluttonous at first, but my judicious use of wheat berries and garbanzo beans helped to balance out those feelings. There was however something missing. Something I did not recall until Phil and I were taking our evening stroll: the red lettuce. How I forgot this ingredient I’ll never know. It may not be a main component of the dish, but ever since seeing a beautiful photo of red lettuce on Heidi Swanson’s site 101 Cookbooks the other day I have been craving it. Today I ate the leftover  salad for lunch, this time being sure to add in a bit of shredded lettuce. It was just the finishing touch this salad needed.

The next time life decided to back it’s Mercedes over your day, make this cozy salad and give thanks that at least your day did not involve an attack by a bark wielding squirrel.

Bacon and Egg Salad

1 cup Wheat berries, toast until fragrant, cook and drain

1 1/2 cups Garbanzo beans, (either dried and reconstituted or canned)

1 Shallot, minced

1/4 cup Golden raisins, roughly chopped

6 Bacon slices, fried up, drained and broken apart

1-2 oz. Chevre, depending on how bad your day was, crumbled (any soft crumbly cheese would be fine)

3 hands full Red lettuce, shredded,

1/2 cup Smoked almonds, chopped

1 recipe Dijon vinagrette

4-8 Poached eggs, (one or two to a serving)

In a large bowl toss together the prepared ingredients with the exception of the poached eggs. Pile a cup of the salad onto each individual plate, creating a well in the center of each in which to place the poached egg. Poach your desired number of eggs and place the finished product in each well and serve.

Notes: This can be served warm, but I prefer it at room temperature.

Dijon Vinagrette

3 TBS Olive oil

1 TBS Bacon grease

1 TBS Rice wine vinegar

1 TBS Dijon

1/4 tsp Freshly ground pepper

1 Small garlic clove

Combine the ingredients together in a bowl and whisk together with a fork until emulsified.

Note: Normally I would add a touch of salt, but the recipe I am pairing it with already has enough salt from the bacon and smoked almonds.

*Yes, I said cursed. I know that is sacrilege around these parts, but whether I was walking to the market, or a restaurant or sitting in my apartment reading my book these fearless fliers kept buzzing me leaving my nerves in tatters. Phil is a little appalled at me for writing this; as an amateur pilot he is quite taken by the Blue Angels. I probably would be too, if I had a decent set of ear plugs.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS