Hearts of Romaine with Blue Cheese and Bacon

From Food Network Kitchens Cookbook, Meredith, 2003

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (7)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(7)

Cook Time:
25 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
4 servings

Times:

Prep: 20 min
Inactive Prep: 10 min
Cook: 25 min
Total:: 55 min

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Ingredients

Salad:

8 strips good-quality bacon
1 large egg
2 hearts romaine lettuce
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Blue Cheese Dressing, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Lay the bacon strips on a roasting rack and bake in the oven until crisp, about 20 minutes. (To make bacon curls: Wrap each slice of raw bacon around a metal skewer in a barber-pole fashion and lay the skewers on the roasting rack.) Pat dry with a paper towel. When cool enough to handle, break into pieces or in half, if using curls.

Put the egg in a small saucepan with enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, cover, and remove from the heat. Set aside for 10 minutes. Drain the egg and roll it between your palm and the counter to crack the shell, then peel under cool running water. Rub the egg through a fine-mesh strainer and set aside.

Remove the large outer leaves from the romaine hearts and rinse. Chop these leaves into bite-size pieces and spin dry. (Use an extremely sharp knife to minimize bruising the edges.) Halve the hearts through the cores to make 4 wedges. Rinse under cold running water and shake to air dry.

Divide the wedges among 4 plates. Mound some of the chopped romaine on top and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon about 1/4 cup of Blue Cheese Dressing over each salad and top with some of the sieved egg and bacon. Pass the remaining dressing at the table.

Know-How: This is the method we use whenever we hard-cook eggs. Because they are not actually boiled, the egg's yolk doesn't turn drab green or develop a strong taste.

Blue Cheese Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup crumbled blue cheese (about 4 ounces)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 shallot, peeled

1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon celery seeds

2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Freshly ground black pepper

Pulse the mayonnaise, blue cheese, buttermilk, shallot, lemon zest, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and celery seeds in a food processor to make a chunky but pourable sauce. Stir in the parsley and season with plenty of pepper. Use immediately or refrigerate in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days.

Yield: 2 cups

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Hearts of Romaine with Blue Cheese and Bacon
Karen Hartman Stanley, AP 01-04-2009
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Yum
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

Made this to go along with a flank steak of Emerils....This dressing needs NO SALT....I also didn't have buttermilk so used... milk and some white vinegar...Read more
recipe Hearts of Romaine with Blue Cheese and Bacon
Anonymous 06-30-2008
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Showstopper!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

We served this for a large dinner party last weekend (10) and it was the elegant touch to the entire meal! Dressing recipe... actually made enough for the 10 servings (not the four stated in the recipe)and was very thick, could have stretched it even more, by adding additional buttermilk. I also substituted feta cheese for the blue, since I am allegic to blue.Read more
recipe Hearts of Romaine with Blue Cheese and Bacon
Anonymous 05-23-2008
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new favorite salad
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Great salad. Real crowd pleaser! For an added twist, drizzle romaine havlves with olive then grill cut side down on a... smoking-hot grill pan or gas grill for 2-3 minutes. Then top with dressing, egg and bacon. Talk about good!!!Read more
recipe Hearts of Romaine with Blue Cheese and Bacon
Anonymous 09-25-2007
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Show Stopper
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I think my sister summed it up with "never lose the recipe for the blue cheese dressing: it's a show stopper"! I used an... American gorgonzola which proved to be creamy and mild (for blue cheese). It's only been a week since I last had it but I think a replay is in the near future!Read more
recipe Hearts of Romaine with Blue Cheese and Bacon
mary ellen Chagrin Falls, OH 08-25-2007
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Fabulous!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I did not have celery seeds so I chopped up some fresh celery leaves, no shallots either so I minced a little bit of a... Vidalia Onion. I used Hellmans Light Mayo and Maytag Bleu cheese. I also used a microplane for the egg, it worked out much easier than pushing it through a fine mesh sieve. Thank you Food Network for another great recipe.Read more
recipe Hearts of Romaine with Blue Cheese and Bacon
Anonymous 08-19-2007
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Loved the dressing
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

The best bleu cheese I've had in a while