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DEL.ICIO.USWilted Salad
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Some version of this salad, in which a hot salad dressing made with bacon grease is poured over a mixture of lettuces causing them to wilt, was near and dear to many a Southerner’s heart — including the grande dame of Southern cuisine, Edna Lewis. It may seem full of fat — but when you dish it up, much of the dressing remains in the bottom of the bowl leaving mostly the healthy stuff and just enough of the smoky-sweet dressing to give it a tantalizing punch.
Ingredients
6 slices bacon
1 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
8 cups crisp, flavorful salad greens, such as romaine, watercress, Bibb or Boston lettuce, or a mixture of the above, washed and thoroughly dried and torn in pieces
1 bunch arugula, prepared as above (optional)
4 spring onions or scallions, washed, trimmed and very thinly sliced
1 tablespoon finely snipped chives
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
Additional salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Cook the bacon in a frying pan until crisp. Remove the bacon from the skillet and set aside. Add the vinegar, sugar, salt, and black pepper to the bacon fat in the frying pan. Stir well to blend, and bring to a vigorous boil. While the dressing is coming to a boil, break the salad greens into pieces and put them into a large stainless steel or ceramic bowl. Add the optional arugula, sliced onions, chives and parsley, and crumble the reserved bacon over the greens. Season with additional salt and pepper. Toss gently, then pour the boiling dressing over. Toss well, and season to taste with more salt and grindings of pepper. Serve at once. — From “The Gift of Southern Cooking” by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock (Knopf)
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