Food & Drink

Aïoli BLTs from Staff Meals from Chanterelle

According to David Waltuck (chef of élan restaurant, and author of Staff Meals from Chanterelle), the success of a BLT depends, first of all, on the quality of the bacon; you want to use the best smoked bacon available to you. He indicates that although the lettuce needn’t be fancy (romaine is nice, but iceberg is okay, too), the tomatoes must be ripe, and the bread firm textured but not too hard. Most important, the bread must be slathered with unctuous, garlicky Aïoli rather than mayonnaise from a jar.

If you think this is good, you should try the Roast Chicken recipe. Out of this world!

Aioli BLTs from Staff Meals from Chanterelle

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

1 pound good-quality, thickly sliced smoked bacon
12 slices good-quality white bread, toasted
½ cup Aïoli
6 leaves romaine lettuce
6 large slices fresh, ripe tomato
Freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Cook the bacon as directed in the box on the following page.
Lay out 6 of the bread slices and spread each with some of the aïoli, using about ¼ cup. Assemble the sandwiches by layering on the lettuce, tomato, and bacon, then sprinkle a healthy grinding of pepper over it all.
Spread the remaining aïoli on the remaining bread slices, then place 1 slice on each sandwich, aïoli-side down. Press down lightly and cut crosswise into halves to serve.
For the Aïoli: Place the egg yolks, vinegar, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender. Process until the mixture is frothy, it turns lighter in color, and the garlic is finely chopped, about 1 minute. With the machine running, slowly add the oils through the feed tube in a thin, steady stream, about 2 minutes. The aïoli will emulsify nicely to a thick, smooth consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

The Secret of Perfect Bacon: When restaurants use bacon, they generally need to cook a lot of it. Instead of frying it in a pan on top of the stove, professional cooks lay the bacon strips in a sheet pan (you could also use a rimmed baking sheet, such as a jelly-roll pan) and bake in a preheated 350°F oven until crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain on paper towels before using. The bacon strips will curl up very little, if at all; they usually come out good and flat, which makes them easier to use.

For more recipes like this, check out Staff Meals from Chanterelle by David Waltuck.