Tag: ARI WEINZWEIG - Page 23 - Zingerman's Community of Businesses

It’s been about eight years now since I first put forward my theory that “bacon was the olive oil of North America.” The theory has spread steadily through the food world. So much so that a few weeks ago I was being interviewed about Camp Bacon by a food person I really respect and love, and she started into her next question: “I’ve heard,” she said, “that someone called bacon ‘the olive oil of North America.’ What do you think about that?” At first I thought she was messing with me a bit, by sending my own kind of crazy theory back at me. But when she didn’t follow her query with a chuckle, I realized the question was serious. “Well, . . .” I said, slightly stumped for a good response,“I…well…I’m the one who made that up in the first place. I wrote about it in Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon.” She started to apologize for not knowing from whence the idea had originated, but I assured her it was nothing to worry about—the best compliment one can probably have for an idea is when it’s embedded itself so effectively into the culture that no one can remember where it came from.

Two days later I sat down to write about these four great olive oils that had only recently arrived at the Zingerman’s Deli, and it struck me that if my original theory is accurate, then by some unrecognized, yet to be named, transitive property of good food philosophy, the concept would probably work just as well in reverse. Having played around with the thought for a few days, I’ve decided to run with it; olive oil is the bacon of the Mediterranean!

The parallels are clearly there. Both bacon and olive oil have the honor of being the primary fat in the food of their respective regions. Without pork fat it’d be hard to properly prepare much of the traditional food of North America. Even many Native American tribes—who had no hogs to work with until the arrival of Europeans—have woven bacon fat into their regular eating routines. (See Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon for my friend Meg Noori’s recipe for Mac ‘n’ Bacon and her stories of growing up eating oatmeal topped with bacon fat). Same, of course, can clearly be said for olive oil in the Mediterranean—you really can’t properly prepare the traditional foods of Italy, Spain, Sicily, Greece, the Middle East or North Africa without it.

Both bacon and olive oil are critical to the commerce of their home regions, both become prominent subtexts in local and national politics (subsidies, farming, etc.), essential in both legend and lore, a big piece of their area’s economy and, of course, of eating. Both are consumed and cut across class and ethnic lines—pretty much everyone eats and enjoys them.

Bringing my bacon as olive oil theory full circle, I’m going to look into starting up my new campaign slogan—everything is better with olive oil! To keep some alliteration in there maybe it ought better to be “Everything is optimized by olive oil!” Or, “Everything is extraordinary with olive oil!” I’ll work on the wording, but in the mean time I’d recommend that you get going—pretty much everything really is better with olive oil! Personally I’ve been putting this idea into practice for so long now that I’m almost what Maggie at ZingTrain would call “unconsciously competent” about it. I just instinctively put good olive oil on almost everything. Bread, salad, fish, steak, soups, sandwiches, olives, cakes, cookies, and bean dishes, are all delicious when dressed with it. But olive oil is also excellent in places you might not expect: fruit, honey, jam, and your morning toast are all terrific with it. Like bacon, olive oil is also showing up and showing pretty well in places one might not normally expect—I’ve had olive oil mousse, olive oil popcorn, olive oil gelato, olive oil chocolate cake, chocolate bars.

Here are a few thoughts on what you might do with some really good olive oil:

Olive oil & fresh mozzarella:
The milky freshness of the mozzarella provides the perfect palette for the olive oil to work on. If you want to add really good tomato, or equally excellent roasted peppers, that’s terrific too. A few flakes of the amazing Maras red pepper would be terrific. Better still, do this with burrata from Zingerman’s Creamery.

Olive oil and honey:
I totally love this combination—pour some good olive oil on a plate or bowl. In the middle (or actually wherever your creative mind is moved to put it) plop down a few good sized spoonfuls of honey. Eat with bits of warm Paesano or Rustic Italian bread by dragging the bread through both the honey and the oil. You can also top it with toasted pine nuts.

Make a L.O.T.:
Following my metaphor, if olive oil is the bacon of the Mediterranean and a BLT is one of the best sandwiches we make, then of course an Lettuce, Olive Oil, and To- tomato sandwich would be terrific as well. Really great lettuce from the farmer’s market, heirloom tomatoes as soon as they start coming in mid-summer, toasted Bakehouse bread and a generous dose of extra virgin oil. Toast a couple thick slices of Farm bread, dress with the olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and brush with garlic if you want. Pull off whole leaves of one of those totally beautiful lettuces that have been showing up at the farmers market. Add a few slices of an heirloom tomato. Smush it all together and eat! In its most basic form, a LOT is vegan and very good. I like to tune(isian) it up and add harissa. Delicious.

Olive oil and jam:
An excellent way, it turns out, to top off your morning toast. The sweetness of the preserves is a perfect foil for the slightly spicy green fruit of the oil.

Olive oil and fish:
Certainly one of my favorites—olive oil and fish (like bacon and fish) blend beautIfully. Simply sauté, grill or broil the fresh fish of your choice, then dress with a good bit of really good extra virgin olive oil. For this, I really recommend the more delicate oils.

Olive oil and fruit:
I learned this one from the cooking of the island of Menorca in the Mediterranean. Toast some farm or Paesano bread, dress it with olive oil and then add slices of ripe peach, plum, nectarine, or whatever else looks good at the market. Fresh fruit, either grilled or raw, is great with a few drops of olive oil and a bit of black or red pepper. A salad with watermelon, feta and arugula is one of my favorites. Cantaloupe and olive oil, topped with a good grind of fresh pepper, a pinch or two of sea salt is superb.

Olive oil and steak:
A Tuscan classic—cook a steak to your desired level of doneness (in Florence that means very rare) and then rub it with fresh garlic and dress it with a great peppery olive oil. Poggio Lamentano would be lovely. Great topped with chopped fresh arugula too.

Olive oil and bacon:
I got you there! But it’s true— each is great of course on its own but the two actually make a marvelous team. You can use them in tandem in almost any setting—fried bacon and olive oil on salad, in bean soups, on sandwiches, etc.

Super simple salad:
All salads are, we know, excellent with olive oil. But of late I’ve been more and more appreciative of really simple ones—great greens, oil, a touch of vinegar, sea salt and pepper. This really couldn’t be simpler or more elegant or easier, but nevertheless it’s amazing. Just get some of the fantastic lettuce from the farmer’s market. Wash it and then dry the leaves on towels. I like to leave the leaves whole for effect (both visual and textural). Sprinkle with good sea salt and a fresh grind of black pepper. Then dress with some great vinegar and an extra virgin olive oil of your liking. If you want, grate on a bit of Parmigiano Reggiano.

Toasted bagels with olive oil:
I want to tell you that this is a traditional breakfast for Mediterranean Jews but that wouldn’t be true. It is however delicious. Toast, drizzle, eat, enjoy. Add a bit of fresh Zingerman’s Creamery cream cheese or goat cheese to take it up a notch.

Zingerman’s 4th Annual Camp Bacon is just around the corner and to help get everyone prepared, we’re sharing tasty excerpts and recipes from Ari’s book, Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon.

The Laurel Blakemore Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich

Aside from being the only palindromic recipe name I know, this also makes a really good sandwich, which has long been very popular at the Zingerman’s Deli. It’s named for Dr. Laurel Blakemore, horse fanatic, show jumper, pediatric orthopaedic surgeon and a big lover of bacon. It calls for a good bit of mayonnaise—I think a good BLT needs that, but you can certainly cut back if you like. Either way, it’s easy to make and great to eat!

The recipe is for a single sandwich but it’s not hard to do the math and make as many as you want.

Ingredients:

2 to 4 slices Arkansas Peppered Bacon
2 slices crusty country bread (we use Zingerman’s Farm Bread)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 slices aged Vermont cheddar cheese
2 thick slices good tomato
Handful of good lettuce

Procedure:

Cook the bacon in a frying pan until done. Remove from pan and drain, but leave the pan on the heat.
Spread mayonnaise on both slices of bread.
Put a slice of cheese on each slice, then add the bacon and tomato.
Assemble the sandwich, give it a gentle press together with your palm and slide it into the hot pan.
Weight it down with a bowl and fry until golden brown.
Flip, brown the other side, and remove from pan.
Add the lettuce, cut the sandwich on whatever angle your heart desires (remember, though, that Laurel is a surgeon and places great value on properly positioned knife cuts!), and eat it while it’s hot!

See you at Camp!

Zingerman’s 4th Annual Camp Bacon is just around the corner and to help get everyone prepared, we’re sharing tasty excerpts and recipes from Ari’s book, Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon.

'Who's-Uncle-Sam-'-187U

Pork has been the key ration of every American army since the time of the Revolution. In fact, the initial “Uncle Sam” was a 21-year-old from New Hampshire by the name of Samuel Wilson. During the War of 1812 he was a prime pork packer for the Army. The story goes that he became quite popular among the troops for his provisioning work and upbeat personality. Barrels of pork labeled “U.S.” came to stand for “Uncle Sam” Wilson, the man who fed the folks in the Army.

See you at camp!

Zingerman’s 4th Annual Camp Bacon is just around the corner and to help get everyone prepared, we’re sharing tasty excerpts and recipes from Ari’s book, Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon.

Wittenberg Splits

This is the way Tanya Nueske and her family grew up eating hot dogs. They’re not hard to make and they really are darned good. To restate the by-now familiar: the better the buns and hot dogs, the better these are going to taste. I use buns from Zingerman’s Bakehouse, on which I put either Vienna all-beef dogs from Chicago (the ones I grew up with) or the Niman Ranch version. Take note that in Wisconsin “cheddar” always means orange cheese, never white. It won’t taste any different, but if you want to accurately replicate Tanya Nueske’s early life experience, white cheese just really won’t do.

Ingredients:

12 thick slices Nueske’s applewood-smoked bacon
6 jumbo hot dogs, split lengthwise
6 ounces sharp cheddar (the older the better), sliced
1 large dill pickle, sliced thinly lengthwise
6 hot dog buns, toasted

Procedure:

Preheat oven to broil at 375°F.
With a sharp paring knife, cut a line lengthwise along each hot dog, leaving a thin strip at the bottom so that the dog stays in one piece. Lay the sliced cheddar inside the split, then place a long slice of pickle atop the cheese. Wrap each hot dog in 2 slices of bacon and secure the ends of each strip with a toothpick.
Place on a foil-topped baking sheet and broil for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the bacon is nicely browned.
You can put your buns under the broiler for the last 2 minutes to toast them, too. Take out the toothpicks, put the dogs in the buns and eat ’em while they’re hot.

Serves 6 as a main course.

See you at camp!

Zingerman’s 4th Annual Camp Bacon is coming soon and to help get everyone prepared, we’re sharing tasty excerpts and recipes from Ari’s book, Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon.

Apple (or Pear) Bacon Crisp

Strange as it sounds to some, bacon really can beget a fine dessert. As someone at the Zingeman’s Roadhouse said when we had this on our dessert list a while back, “You might think bacon and apples sounds strange for dessert, but it’s basically like serving pork chops with applesauce.” Made sense to me. And for folks who love their bacon, it’s a very good way to get a bit more into their day.

The crisp is a great autumn dessert and would be excellent for both eating and engaging guests in conversation at holiday meals. You can do it with pears instead of apples, with equally good results. In truth, I almost like it better that way, but they’re both darned good! Take your pick, or, if you’re entertaining, do one of each and let your guests decide.

Ingredients:

¾ cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons bourbon
6 ounces sliced Arkansas peppered or long pepper bacon (about 3 to 4 slices), diced
¾ cup Muscovado (or other natural dark) brown sugar
9 to 12 ripe apples or pears (about 2½ pounds)
1¼ teaspoons cinnamon
¼ cup unsalted butter

For the streusel:

½ cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ½-inch pieces
1¼ cups flour
¼ cup Muscovado (or other natural dark) brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Pour the bourbon over the raisins, mix well and set aside to soak for a minimum of 15 minutes, on up to a couple of hours (longer is better to my taste, but if you forget to do it ahead the shorter time will work just fine).
Dredge the bacon in ¾ cup of brown sugar and lay on a foil-lined
baking sheet with a lip. Sprinkle any of the remaining brown sugar over the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until very dark brown, crisp and caramelized. Carefully remove from oven and allow to cool.
While bacon is cooking, slice the fruit (skin on) directly into a 9-inch round pan. After you’ve covered the bottom of the pan, sprinkle on some of the raisins, then a bit of the bourbon and the cinnamon. Add another layer of fruit, then the remaining raisins and cinnamon. Sprinkle the balance of the bourbon over the top and dot with the butter. (The sliced fruit may pile up over the lip of the pan, but it will settle while baking.) Sprinkle the candied bacon pieces evenly over the top.
Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.
Make the streusel by combining the butter, flour, salt and sugars in a mixer or food processor. The mixture should be crumbly and somewhat dry. Sprinkle over the top of the apple mixture in the pan and pat down lightly. Go around the edges, pressing the streusel into the fruit to seal.
Place the dish in the oven uncovered and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the juices are bubbling up around the edges and the streusel is nicely browned. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes.
Serve warm, with optional ice cream or gelato.

Serves 6 to 8 for dessert.

See you at camp!

Zingerman’s 4th Annual Camp Bacon is coming soon and to help get everyone prepared, we’re sharing tasty excerpts and recipes from Ari’s book, Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon.

Pasta alla Gricia

The background on this dish is provided in the section on guanciale (see page 118), so all I’ll say here is that it’s a really great bowl of pasta, and that the pepper is one of the key components of this dish, not a postscript, so use a lot of it. The more I eat this dish, the more I like it.
Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti (I’m partial to Martelli, but you can pick from any of the great artisan brands including Latini, Rustichella and Cavalieri)
5 ounces (about 2 to 3 slices) guanciale, diced
Hot red pepper flakes (preferably Marash), to taste
Freshly ground Tellicherry black pepper to taste
5 ounces Italian Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated

Procedure:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt.
At the same time, begin heating a heavy 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the pasta to the water and stir so that the noodles don’t stick.
Fry the guanciale in the skillet until its fat is released and the nuggets begin to crisp. (If your guanciale is too lean, add a bit of olive oil to the pan.)
When the pasta is approaching but not quite yet al dente, remove from the heat and drain.
Add the pasta to the skillet with the guanciale and toss well to coat with the hot pork fat. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes, until the pasta is fully al dente. Stir regularly so that the pasta doesn’t stick. Add red pepper flakes and black pepper liberally to taste.
Turn off the heat, add the grated Pecorino cheese and toss to coat. Serve hot, and pass the pepper grinder.

Variation:
In the spring, sauté 6 ounces of asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces, along with the guanciale. I like the asparagus pieces lightly browned to bring out their full flavor.

Serves 4 as a main course, or 6 to 8 as a side dish.