Recipes : PLT Salad : Food Network

	Print 3x5 Recipe Cards
	Print this recipe out and cut along the dotted lines to add this 3x5 recipe card to your personal collection.

"PLT" Salad
Recipe courtesy Michael Chiarello

Ingredients
For the dressing:
1 1/2 pounds pancetta, sliced 1/4-inch thick
Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Sea salt, preferably gray salt, and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups lightly packed torn fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped, divided

For the salad:
6 large slices country style bread, about 1/2-inch thick
Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing

8 to 9 cups thinly sliced hearts romaine lettuce (from 1 large head)
3 large tomatoes

Instructions
Unroll the pancetta slices and cut them crosswise into
1-inch lengths. In a large skillet, cook the pancetta over medium heat until it
renders much of its fat and the pancetta begins to get crisp, about 20 minutes.
Drain the pancetta in a sieve placed over a heat-proof measuring pitcher. Add
olive oil to the pancetta fat, as needed, to total 1 cup.

For the dressing:
Return the fat to the skillet and place over high heat. Add the garlic and cook
until it begins to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and let
cool to room temperature. When cool, add red wine vinegar and salt and pepper, to

taste. (Taste before adding salt as the pancetta is already heavily salted.) Mix
in 1/2 of the chopped basil. Set aside.

For the salad:
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Place the slices of bread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in
the oven until golden brown and just beginning to crisp, about 6 minutes. (You can
also toast the bread on a stove-top gas grill.) Remove from the oven and lightly
brush the bread slices on both sides with olive oil, then season lightly with
salt.

To serve, arrange a row of lettuce down the center of each plate. Slice the
tomatoes 1/2-inch thick and arrange on 1 side of the lettuce. Cut each bruschetta

on the diagonal into 2 or 3 pieces, and arrange the pieces on the side of the
lettuce. Place some pancetta in the center of each plate. Spoon an equal amount of
the dressing over each plate. Sprinkle with remaining basil and serve at
once.