Roasted corn & bacon infused mushroom garden salad
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salad:
romaine lettuce
1 red onion
1 bell pepper
1 bunch radishes
2-4 carrots
2-3 ears of corn
6-8 portobello mushrooms
2 English cucumbers
6 slices of bacon
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
cheddar cheese
1-2 tbsp rendered bacon fat
croutons:
4-6 slices stale bread (I used the sandwich bread from the BLT recipe)
1 bunch parsley
4-6 cloves garlic
grated parmesan cheese (roughly 1/4 cup)
olive oil
dash of salt
cracked black pepper
Buttermilk ranch dressing:
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups sour cream
1 shallot
1 bunch dill
4-6 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
cracked black pepper to taste
Preparation:
Prepare the ranch dressing by mincing the shallot, garlic, and dill. Add the buttermilk and sour cream, along with the salt, cayenne, and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate.
Make the croutons by cubing slices of stale bread. Place the cubes into a large mixing bowl and then dice the parsley and garlic, then add to bowl. Add grated parmesan cheese, cracked black pepper, and a dash of sea salt. Mix to combine. Drizzle with oil, mix to combine again, and then place the croutons on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake @ 400 ° for 15-20 minutes or until croutons become nice and brown. Set aside and allow to cool.
Place the bacon on a baking sheet line with aluminum foil, top with cracked black pepper. Bake @ 425 ° for 8-10 minutes or until bacon is nice and crispy. Reserve some of the bacon fat for the mushrooms.
Prepare the salad by chopping lettuce, thinly slicing the red onion and bell pepper. Cube the cucumber, halve the cherry tomatoes, julienne the carrots, and slice the radish very thin (I used a mandolin for the radish for simplicity and consistency). Roast the corn using a torch until lightly blackened (roughly 1-2 minutes for each ear), next slice the kernels off the cob.
Slice the mushrooms into strips. Drizzle olive oil into a skillet on medium. Place the mushrooms into the skillet and then add 1-2 tbsp of rendered bacon fat. Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until the mushrooms develop a nice color. Salt and black pepper to taste.
Assemble the salad.
Enjoy.
