Read Online Bacon Nation: 125 Irresistible Recipes by Peter Kaminsky, Marie Rama - Free Book Online Page B

slices of coarsely chopped thick-cut bacon for a delicious side dish.
     
    Dealing with the Rind and Slab

     
    To remove the rind from slab bacon, place the slab on a cutting board and insert the edge of a sharp chef’s knife under the rind at one corner. Move the blade of the knife back and forth under the rind, holding the knife parallel to the cutting board and slicing just above the bacon meat from one end of the slab to the other. Once the rind has started to be separated from the meat, you can help the process along by using one hand to pull the rind away from the slab as you slice.
    Cut the slab into cubes by first cutting it into slices ½ to ¾ inch thick. Stack two to three slices and cut them crosswise ¼ to ½ inch wide. If some of them seem too thick, cut them in half. Repeat with the remaining bacon slices.
    When cooking slab bacon, while we cherish the flavor of rendered bacon drippings, most of us would prefer not to find solid cubes of bacon fat floating in our soup. After browning cubes of raw bacon cut from a slab, you will most likely end up with a few that are only fat with no meat. We recommend you remove and discard any solid cubes of bacon fat that remain in the skillet or pan after browning.
     

Summer Vegetable and Bacon Soup with Tomato-Basil Pistou

     
    Serves 4 to 5
     
    By default, we usually think of bacon as a way to add extra heft to already hearty soups, but the truth is that more delicate recipes can also be transformed by bacon. Here’s a delicious soup, loaded with fresh vegetables, so you can feel nutritionally “moral” with each slurp. Finishing it with a pistou of basil, tomatoes, and floral olive oil makes it even lighter. The puree of tomatoes and garlic creates the satisfying mouthfeel of cream . . . with no cream.
    5 slices bacon, cut into ¼-inch pieces
    1 medium-size onion, diced
    2 large carrots, trimmed, peeled, and sliced crosswise into ¼-inch-thick rounds
    2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
    3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
    1 medium-size baking potato, peeled and diced (about 1⅓ cups)
    1 small zucchini, trimmed and diced (about 1⅓ cups)
    2 large ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped
    ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
    1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    1 Cook the bacon in a medium-size saucepan or pot over medium heat until lightly browned and most of the fat is rendered, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving the bacon fat in the pan.
    2 Place the pan over medium heat, add the onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened and lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes.
    3 Stir in the carrots and half of the garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and 2 cups of water. Cover the pan, increase the heat to high, and let come to a boil. Then, reduce the heat as necessary and let the stock mixture simmer, uncovered, until the carrots soften, about 5 minutes.
    4 Add the potato, zucchini, half of the chopped tomatoes, and half of the drained bacon. Cover the pan, increase the heat to high, and let come to a boil. Then, reduce the heat as necessary and let the soup simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are cooked and the flavors blend, about 20 minutes, skimming any fat or foam that rises to the surface with a large spoon.
    5 While the soup cooks, combine the remaining garlic, the remaining chopped tomato, and the basil and olive oil in a blender or a mini food processor and process until smooth. Set the tomato-basil pistou aside.
    6 When the soup is done, taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as necessary. Remove the soup from the heat and swirl the tomato-basil pistou into the pan. Ladle the soup into individual bowls, sprinkling each serving with the remaining pieces of bacon.

Mushroom-Barley-Bacon Soup
    Serves 4 to 5
     
    Mushroom