Recipe: Bacon n' Egg Salad

Bacon n' Eggs Salad. Pancetta, boiled egg, shaved fennel, orange supremes, cress, & orange vinagrette. Photo by Jessica

This salad came about because I accidentally ordered the wrong sort of pancetta from the eat counter. I meant to get the cured kind, that you can just eat out of the paper, but I accidentally pointed to the wrong one. I think what would have been better is if I hadn't cooked the eggs quite as long. So if anyone tries this out, either soft boil the egg for roughly 6 minutes or poach the egg. Recipe follows.

This salad is very simple and quick. Enjoy on a hot day or as part of brunch with mimosas!

Ingredients (for two)

1 slice pancetta (uncured)
1 fennel bulb, stems removed. Save a small piece of the frawns for decoration (see photo)
2 large handfuls of cress leaves, washed
2 fresh brown eggs
1 orange
2 tsp. flavorful olive oil
3-4 tsp vinegar (any sort)
pinch of salt 

Directions  

Start by searing the pancetta quickly in a hot pan. Dice into small pieces and set aside. For soft boiled eggs, place your eggs in the bottom of a sauce pan and cover by 1 inch with room temp water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmering and simmer for about 5 minutes. Immediately plunge the eggs into ice water and let sit till cold. It will take awhile for the water to boil, so in the meantime make the vinaigrette. First start by cutting the ppeel and pith from the orange, and supreme at least 6 sections. In a bowl large enough for the salad, whisk together the vinegar and olive oil and squeeze some juice from what's left of the orange in to the vinaigrette to taste. Next wash the fennel bulb and slice in a mandoline or very finely with a knife. Toss the cress and fennel with the vinaigrette. To finish, place a handful of the tossed salad on a plate, top with pancetta, orange supremes, egg and fennel frawn. You can sprinkle with a little more salt and crack some fresh pepper too, if that's your thing...enjoy!