Recipe for Bacon-Wilted Green with Warm Goat Cheese
This dish is Virginia's lighter take on a traditional French preparation of fresh goat cheese melted on a bread crouton over crisp greens.
As I mentioned above, I used local Savoy spinach instead of the kale and I left out the pecans because I didn't have any on hand. If using kale, the greens will not cook down as much as the spinach.
The recipe in the book states that it serves 6 but two of us easily devoured these greens since the spinach cooked down so much.
Servings: 5 1/2 cups
Ingredients
- *2 center-cut bacon slices cut into lardons ("match-stick" slices)
- *1/2 red onion thinly sliced
- *1 apple such as Gala, Granny Smith, or Honeycrisp, skin on, cored and diced
- *Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- *8 cups tender kale stemmed and cut into chiffonade (I used Savoy spinach)
- *1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- *3 tablespoons very finely chopped pecans I left these out
- *1 6-ounce log goat cheese
- *1 small apple such as Gala, Granny Smith, or Honeycrisp, skin on with core, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Instructions
- 1. Line a plate with paper towels. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone mat and set aside.
- 2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to the prepared plate. Pour off all but a film of the grease on the bottom of the pan. (Just eyeball it instead of trying to measure, but it should be just about 1/2 teaspoon; discard the remaining grease.)
- 3. To make the salad, return the skillet to low heat. Add the onion and the diced apple. Season with salt and pepper. Add the kale; cook until the kale begins to wilt, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Add the vinegar; cover, and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, taste, and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.
- 4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to broil. Place the finely chopped pecans in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Roll the goat cheese log in the pecans to evenly coat. Refrigerate until firm if necessary, then cut evenly into 6 rounds and place each round of cheese on the sliced apple. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and broil until the cheese is melted and browned, 3 to 5 minutes.
- 5. To serve, divide the kale salad among the plates. Top with an apple-cheese round and garnish with the reserved bacon. Serve immediately.