Salad Toast

As you can tell from reading this blog, I really enjoy a good salad, something which still surprises me since, as a child, I considered them a necessary nutritional bore.

The original plan for this was to make simple salad for dinner with whatever I had in the hydrator that was appropriate (plus bacon) but, when the time came, I was hungry and my original salad for dinner plan didn't feel substantial enough. Turning the salad into an open faced sandwich by using the bread as toast on which to layer everything rather than as croutons as originally planned, turned this into what felt like a proper meal.

I am sure that there is a lesson and moral to that last statement, something about perspective being important in life, but - for the sake of this recipe - let me just state that I was reminded that eating does, in fact, begin with one's eyes.

1 slice of your favorite bread

2 cups roughly chopped mixed greens

2 slices of good bacon, chopped into rough lardons

2 Tbsps scallion, green onion, or ramp leaves, roughly chopped

3 farm fresh radishes, topped and tailed, thinly sliced

2 tsps rice wine vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp honey

Put the toast in your toaster. As it cooks, get started on the bacon.

Put the bacon pieces in a pan over medium heat and cook, stirring from time to time to keep them from burning, until the fat has rendered and the bacon is crispy, a couple of minutes. Remove using tongs and set aside.

Remove the pan from the heat and pour out all but about 2 tsps of the grease*. Add the chopped allium greens and stir to combine. Then add the vinegar, mustard and honey. As they combine with the bacon fat, they may sputter a bit so be careful.

Place your toast on a plate. Top with your greens and your radishes. You can add other things, but this is what I had on hand because it was the day before my veggie box delivery. Tomato would be good, as would chopped egg. Even shredded carrots.

Sprinkle the bacon over the top and then pour the still warm dressing over everything.

This is definitely a fork and knife sandwich.

*Do not pour your grease down the drain. Let it congeal in a container in the fridge and then scoop the ssolidified fat into the trash and throw it out.