A Warm Salad of Artichokes and Bacon
“Monday cold cuts” is a key dish in our house: it shows our intent to use every scrap, to make the most of what we have, but it also gives me a break. It is one meal I don’t have to think about other than sharpening the carving knife. The appearance of thin slices of cold meat on the first day of the week also gives me a chance to consider a side dish more interesting than a baked potato. Sometimes I bring out a bubble and squeak, fried in my old cast-iron pan, or some leftover mashed root vegetables warmed in a bowl over hot water with a tablespoon of butter; other times it’s red cabbage, shredded with pickled walnuts as black as coal. Another favorite is a warm salad of some sort of root vegetable, fried or steamed, then turned in a mustardy dressing.
Recipe information
Yield
enough for 2
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Peel the artichokes, dipping each one into cold water containing a squeeze of lemon juice as you go. This will stop them browning. Pile into a steamer basket or colander and steam over boiling water until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.
Step 2
Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a nonstick pan until lightly crisp—you probably won’t need any fat—then cut into finger-thick strips and drop into a salad bowl. Make a dressing with the olive oil, walnut oil, lemon juice, and mustard, whisking the ingredients together with a seasoning of salt and pepper. Chop the parsley and stir it into the dressing (the parsley is essential here, I think).
Step 3
Slice the artichokes thickly, I like them quite chunky for this recipe. Over medium heat, warm the pan in which you cooked the bacon, then add the sliced artichokes, letting them cook until nicely colored on both sides. Now toss them carefully with the bacon and the dressing.
Step 4
Serve with cold roast beef or chicken.
