April 12th

More Bacon Please

So apparently I can't make a salad without bacon and/or bacon grease.  Well, they might not be super healthy, but they're delicious!

Warm Green Bean and Potato Salad from Liege (Salad Liegeoise)
recipe from: Everybody Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook by Ruth Van Waerebeek

According to the cookbook, if you ask anyone in Liege, they would say that this is the most popular dish there.
This salad was simple.  I thought the taste was good, but I'd make a little more dressing because I thought it needed a little more flavor. The cookbook also mentions that this is commonly eaten as a main dish.  However, I think it would make a good side dish.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 new red potatoes, scrubbed
• salt to taste
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 2 tbs butter or vegetable oil
• 5 oz bacon
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 shallots or 1 small onion
• 1/4 cup finely minced fresh parsley
• freshly ground pepper to taste

 Directions:

1. Cook the unpeeled potatoes in boiling salted water covered until tender, about 20 minutes.  Drain
2. Cook the green beans in plenty of boiling salted water until tender but still crunchy, 10-15 minutes.  Do not cover the pot or they will discolor.
3. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle but still quite warm, peel them and cut each potato into 4 pieces.  Combine the potatoes and warm green beans in a salad bowl.
4. Melt the butter or heat the oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat.  Add the bacon strips and saute until crisp but not too brown, 4-6 minutes.
5. Pour the bacon and the rendered fat over the green beans and potatoes.
6. Deglaze the warm skillet with the vinegar and reduce over high heat by two-thirds, 1 minute.  Pour over the vegetables and combine well.
7. Season with salt to taste.  Sprinkle with the shallots, parsley and a generous grinding of freshly ground black pepper.

Grades:

Megan - B+ (I thought this needed a little more flavor, but generally was good.  I also think it would be great as a side dish.)

Noelle - F (When I first presented this to Noelle, she said, "my green beans are dirty" because they had bits of potatoes stuck to them.  She's not the biggest fan of green beans so that was a failure.  She usually loves potatoes, but I think the vinegar and bacon taste turned her off.  She wasn't having this one.)