Corn, Bacon, and Shallot Salad
Corn, Bacon, and Shallot Salad started as a riff on a Pepper Teigen recipe, but fridge contents forced some detours. Besides, as Laurie Colwin so presciently noted in More Home Cooking, all plans go to hell during the summer. Then again, Colwin had no way of knowing that all plans, cooking or otherwise, would go to hell on a permanent basis, leaving many of us babbling into our wine, but never mind that.
Anyway. Salads. Some of you cringed at bacon. I saw you. The bacon-averse can substitute firm tofu, flavored or not. Slice your tofu into rectangles and arrange it on a baking sheet. Blot it dry with clean dish or paper towels, and open freeze it for a few hours or overnight. Freezing the tofu changes its texture, making it dry, spongy, and magically appealing to even the most hardcore tofu-haters.
Be sure to remove the paper towel before freezing the tofu. This seems obvious, but I was this stupid, so don’t be me. When it came to use the tofu, I spent a productive thirty minutes brushing bits of wet paper towel out of defrosting tofu. This was a half hour of my life I will never recover.
Corn with bacon and shallot (or tofu) can be a salady side dish, or it can be the meal. Dress it with olive oil and lemon, and you have a companion to lamb, white fish, or chicken. Mix in generous amounts of nam pla, lime, cilantro, and tofu, and you have a dish that partners well with Asian food.
Corn with bacon and shallot is easily made vegetarian, kosher, even vegan, so long as you’re mindful of the dressing ingredients. It’s also easily made safe for Celiac sufferers, so long as you take care with ingredients and cutting surfaces (food grade plastic, not wood, which can harbor crumbs in microscopic cuts).
Should you have some stale bread around, you might tear it into bits and add it to the salad. This isn’t the place for panko. Much as I’m a fan, now is the time for real bread.
Cherries and a lemon from our yard. We all know what bread looks like, and very honestly, the bread picture isn’t any good.
Corn with bacon and shallots is nice hot, and but it’s best at room temperature. Leftovers make lovely lunches, by themselves or alongside leftover cold lamb or ham, should you be fortunate enough to have any.
Finally, if you were to come into a few tomatoes, slice a few and toss them in.
Corn with Bacon and Shallot (or firm tofu)
inspired by a recipe from Pepper Tiegan’s Pepper Thai Cookbook
yield: 2-3 servings; easily increased
Prep time: About 20 minutes
Handful salad greens
small handful fresh herbs of your choice: basil, parsley, thyme (optional)
1 ounce/30 grams sliced bacon, sliced or scissored into fork-sized pieces. (see variations, below, for a vegetarian version)
2 teaspoons neutrally flavored cooking oil (you may not need this; it depends on how much fat your bacon throws off)
1-2 small garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 small lobe shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
1 radish, trimmed and sliced (optional)
1-2 ears of corn, or about 16 ounces/454 grams
Fresh lemon juice, to taste
olive oil, salt, and pepper, to taste
fresh breadcrumbs, optional
Place the lettuce and herbs, if using, in the salad bowl you intend to serve in.
I prepare the bacon and corn in a wok, but any large frying pan will work. Place pan on medium heat. Add the bacon to the pan and allow it to cook until crisp.
Have a large paper-towel lined platter or plate ready. Once bacon is cooked to your liking, remove it to plate to drain. Depending on amount of fat left in pan, you may need to add more oil, pour some off, or it may be just right; I needed to add a bit of peanut oil before adding in the radish, garlic, and shallot.
Cook radish, if using, and alliums until tender, four to five minutes. You want them to soften but not go deeply brown.
If you want to add fresh bread crumbs, country or sourdough bread is nice here, dried in a very low oven for three or four minutes (don’t forget, like some people!). Allow crumbs to dry and cool, then pull off the crust and either discard, save for another dish, or eat it. Remove the radish and alliums to the bacon plate. Add bread crumbs to the pan, and scrape them around so they pick up the fond. Try not to eat them all, alone in the kitchen. Add them to the radishes, bacon, etc.
Add a little oil to pan if necessary, but keep to a minimum here. Add the corn, and a tiny bit of salt.
Cook corn for three minutes or so–you want it barely cooked.
Tip all ingredients into the salad bowl and either mix with your clean hands or salad tongs.
Dress with lots of fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and just a touch of hot pepper flakes, if desired.
Note: vegetarians can use firm tofu or avocado instead of bacon; see below for variation.
Variation: Corn with Asian Greens, Nam Pla, and Frozen Tofu:
6-24 hours ahead of time, freeze the tofu:
Buy the firmest tofu you can find. Tofu is sold in the US in one-pound blocks. Slice in rectangles and arrange on a baking sheet. Lay clean dishtowels or paper towels over the slices, wicking up moisture. Some people weight the tofu. I prefer to lay several paper towels over the slices for about 30 minutes, then slide the baking sheet into the freezer. Remove towels before freezing tofu, 6-24 hours.
The recipe calls for 3 slices of tofu. Feel free to use more. Place the remainder in zip-top freezer bag or freezer-safe storage container for use in other dishes. The tofu will keep for several months. I use it in curries, stir-fries, and soups. It defrosts almost immediately
Instead of lettuce, stir-fry bok choy or other Asian greens.
Dress dish with Nam pla and fresh lime juice. Scallions or shallots are fine.
If you like a little sweetness in the dressing, try a little brown sugar, or, if you can get it, palm sugar.
Stir-fry the tofu along with the corn; It will break up, but that’s okay.
Neither of these salads are long keepers; wrap leftovers, refrigerate, and consume within two days.
