MONDAY
Crispy Pancetta, Heirloom Tomato & Burrata Sandwiches | Fresh Cherries
One of my favorite sandwiches is the classic “BLT” {bacon, lettuce & tomato} and the best time to enjoy one of these beauties is during the summer when heirloom tomatoes are hanging heavy on the vine. My tomato plants {Julia Child and Paul Robeson} are now taller than I am and are bursting with blooms {I even have 3 or 4 small, green tomatoes hiding behind all of the foliage} but harvesting their fruit is still some weeks away. I did spot these early Heirloom Tomatoes at our local market this weekend…
shortly after reading the article: “The Best BLT I’ve Ever Made” over at the Bon Appétit blog, and my will power to wait until my own tomatoes were ripe for the picking crumbled.
As the article states, “This BLT hardly requires a recipe…”, but, as with any dish making use of just a few ingredients, the higher the quality of the parts yields a better whole. For our sandwiches this evening, I purchased one pound of uncut Pancetta {Italian bacon} from my local butcher. You can have your butcher thickly slice the bacon for you or if you happen to have a deli slicer at home, slice it yourself to your desired thickness {which is what I did tonight, setting the dial on our slicer to 5½}.
To cook the bacon, I simply lined a baking sheet with foil and arranged the pancetta slices in a single layer on the prepared sheet. The bacon cooked in a 450°F {preheated} oven for 30 minutes {the cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your bacon} until it was crispy and then I removed it to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
For the bread, I chose a Pain de Mie as well as a Brioche from our local bakery {La Boulange}…we all love a Pain de Mie but Mallory prefers a Brioche for her sandwiches {the leftovers of which make wonderful french toast for breakfast}. I lightly toasted our bread slices for this evening’s sandwiches…
Baby Arugula and fresh Burrata Cheese round out the ingredients for this sandwich. The peppery finish of the arugula was a wonderful complement to the bacon and the rich, creamy Burrata {click here to see why this cheese might just replace mozzarella in your fridge} eliminated the need for mayonnaise.
Assemble the sandwich to your liking {I spread the Burrata on both slices of bread for our sandwiches} and finish with a bit of Salt & Pepper. The finished sandwich…
Accompanying our sandwiches this evening were these fresh & incredibly sweet cherries…
A wonderful summer dinner!
