Bacon Nation: 125 Irresistible Recipes (7 page)

5
Let the clams cool slightly and then, working over the bowl to catch the juice, carefully twist off and discard the top shells while retaining as much juice as possible in the bottom shells. Set the reserved clam juice aside. Using a paring knife, sever the 2 muscles that attach the clams to each side of their bottom shells. Then, arrange the clams, in their shells, on a large rimmed baking sheet.

6
Add 2 tablespoons of the reserved clam juice to the bacon and bread crumb mixture. Top each clam with an equal portion of the topping, mounding it slightly. Bake the clams until they are heated through and the topping is crisp and brown, 9 to 10 minutes. Transfer the clams to a platter and, if desired, garnish them with the sliced lemon wedges. Serve immediately.

Clamming Up

 

Clams should not be stored for more than a day in your refrigerator after you have purchased them. When you get the clams home, unwrap them from their packaging so they can breathe and remain alive until you cook them. To clean clams, soak them for about 20 minutes in fresh water to cover. As clams breathe they filter water, pushing salt and sand out of their shells. After soaking the clams, you’ll be tempted to turn them all out at once into a colander to drain. Don’t. You might accidentally crack their shells or pour the salt and gritty sand back over them. Instead, use tongs to lift them individually out of the water and into a bowl or the cooking pot.

Serves 2

Stuffed turkey, stuffed eggplant, stuffed pork roast, and—in this case—stuffed artichokes are all more fun than unstuffed. We realize that the world is divided into two kinds of cooks: those who don’t mind prepping artichokes and those who find it a major pain. This recipe won’t change your mind on that burning culinary divide. But if you love the way that artichokes provide a mild, slightly nutty, smooth-textured base for other flavors (we sure do), you will find your labor well rewarded. We recommend using large, sweet vine-ripened cherry tomatoes in the stuffing.

For the artichokes

2 large artichokes

Salt

3 slices thick-cut bacon, diced

2 large shallots, diced

8 large, ripe cherry tomatoes, cut in quarters

1 large clove garlic, minced

¼ cup coarsely ground homemade bread crumbs (see
page 32
)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (see
page 264
), coarsely chopped

Grated zest of half a medium-size lemon

Freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

About 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the olive oil and lemon dressing

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1
Prepare the artichokes: Trim the artichokes so that their stems are flush with their bottoms. Cut off and discard the top third from each artichoke and, using kitchen shears, cut off the tips of the remaining leaves. Place the trimmed artichokes in a saucepan, bottom side down, so they fit snuggly against the side of the pan. Add enough water to barely cover the artichokes, salt the water lightly, cover the pan, and bring to a boil. Let the artichokes simmer, partially covered, until partially cooked, about 20 minutes.

2
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375˚F.

3
Cook the bacon in a medium-size skillet over medium heat until very lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Add the shallots, stirring to coat them in the bacon fat, and cook until the shallots soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant and the tomatoes soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in the bread crumbs, parsley, pine nuts, and lemon zest until well combined. Season the stuffing with salt and pepper to taste. Set the stuffing aside.

4
Remove the artichokes from the pan and turn them upside down on a plate to drain. When cool enough to handle, place the artichokes top side up in an 8-inch-square baking dish. Gently pull the leaves outward from the center of each artichoke so they open slightly. Remove the small purple-tipped leaves in the center above the choke. Using a spoon or melon baller, remove and discard the fibrous choke from each artichoke. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of lemon juice into the cavity of each artichoke and then evenly distribute the stuffing between the 2 artichokes, placing it in the cavities and between the outer leaves. Brush the outer leaves of each artichoke with 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil to lightly coat.

5
Add enough water to the baking dish to come about one quarter of the way up the sides of the artichokes. Cover the baking dish with a large piece of aluminum foil and bake the artichokes until a leaf at the base of an artichoke comes out easily when pulled, 25 to 30 minutes. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, gently remove each artichoke from the baking dish so that the cooking water drains off; then place the stuffed artichokes on a serving dish or 2 individual plates.

6
Make the olive oil and lemon dressing: Whisk together the 4 teaspoons of olive oil and the 2 teaspoons of lemon juice in a small bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the outer leaves of each artichoke and season them lightly with salt and black pepper before serving.

Serves 6 to 8

Our thanks to New York Times food columnist and cookbook author David Tanis (A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes) for giving us a recipe for this lovely, rustic onion and bacon tart. You can adapt it to your own taste by adding or substituting a variety of ingredients. David champions the use of pitted green olives if you’re a vegan, but we prefer the rich smokiness of bacon lardons. You could try adding ripe cherry tomato halves or substituting whole basil leaves for the thyme. We first tested the tart using only all-purpose white flour, as the original recipe calls for, and then added some graham flour in another test to give the dough some extra heft. The good news is it is delicious either way.

For the tart dough

1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, or 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour and ½ cup graham flour, plus flour for rolling out the dough

1 teaspoon rapid-rising dry yeast, such as Fleischmann’s (from one ¼-ounce package)

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Pinch of sugar

½ cup lukewarm water, heated to between 120° and 130°F

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the onion and bacon topping

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3 large onions (about 1½ pounds total), sliced ⅛ inch thick, large rounds cut in half crosswise

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

6 to 7 ounces slab bacon, rind removed (see
page 57
)

4 ounces goat cheese

3 tablespoons sour cream

1
Prepare the tart dough: Combine the flour, yeast, the ½ teaspoon of kosher salt, and the sugar in the metal bowl of a standing mixer.

2
Add the warm water, the 1 tablespoon of melted butter, and the 1½ teaspoons of olive oil and, using a wooden spoon, stir the dough into a ball. Using a bread-making hook, beat the dough on medium speed until a smooth dough forms, about 5 minutes. Cover the bowl with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let stand until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3
Prepare the onion and bacon topping: Heat the 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until evenly lightly browned, about 10 minutes, stirring and adjusting the heat as necessary. Season the onions with salt (lightly as the lardons add salt) and pepper to taste. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the thyme leaves.

4
Cut the slab of bacon into lardons by first cutting it crosswise into slices about ½ inch thick. Stack 2 slices and cut them lengthwise into ½-inch-thick strips. Finally, cut the strips crosswise into lardons about 1 inch long (see
page 45
). Place the lardons in a small saucepan and cover them with about ½ inch of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat as necessary and let the lardons simmer, about 2 minutes. Drain the lardons and if desired trim off any excess fat. Set the lardons aside.

5
Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a 12- by 17-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.

6
Lightly flour a work surface. Punch down the dough and knead it for about 1 minute on the work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle about 11 by 14 inches. Transfer the dough to the parchment-lined baking sheet. If the dough shrinks after it’s transferred, gently pull at its edges to create the desired rectangle and then pat it down onto the parchment paper to help it hold its shape.

7
Place the goat cheese and sour cream in a medium-size mixing bowl and mash them together. Dab teaspoons of the goat cheese mixture all over the surface of the dough, leaving a border of about ½ inch around the edge of the tart bare. Spread the onion mixture over the goat cheese. Scatter the lardons evenly over the top of the onions.

8
Bake the tart for about 15 minutes, then rotate the baking sheet 180 degrees so the back of the baking sheet faces the front of the oven. Continue baking the tart until the edges are browned, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Turn on the oven’s broiling unit and broil the tart until the onions and lardons are lightly browned and the goat cheese is melted and hot, 2 to 3 minutes. Watch carefully so you don’t overbrown or burn the edges of the tart under the heat of the broiler.

9
Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut the tart into 6 to 8 rectangles and serve immediately.