Improve Watermelon With Bacon! - rctim.com

Yearly, my associates throw an “Aporkalypse” get together, by which the hosts require company to carry dishes impressed by all issues pig. Porcine edibles have included, however aren’t restricted to: bacon cupcakes, the Bacon Explosion, BLT salad, pork meatloaf wrapped in bacon, scrapple layer cake, pork stomach sliders, pork roll infused tequila, bacon infused vodka, thinly sliced home-cured pancetta, and bacon wrapped in bacon wrapped in turkey bacon.  I’ve nonetheless but to puzzle out whether or not the title “Aporkalypse” comes from the concept, ought to the world finish that evening, we’d all go pleasantly sated on pork, or, whether or not it warns of the gastrointestinal misery that normally follows the night.

Given the richness of most dishes—and the inevitable post-Aporkalypse dehydration—I made a decision to go lighter this 12 months, providing a dish that also showcases pork, however didn’t pummel your style buds with it. As a result of, truthfully, there may be similar to factor as an excessive amount of bacon.

After sending out a name for recipes, Chef Michael Fiorelli from mar’sel at Terrnea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes submitted the winner. Fiorelli takes a ripe seedless watermelmon, dices it up, after which marinates it in salt, pepper, olive oil, and rice wine vinegar. To up the flavour and texture, he tosses the marinated watermelon with salty feta cheese, crunchy seeds, recent basil, and, in fact, savory bacon crumbles. The sweet-salty-floral-crunchy combo will make you rethink straight-up watermelon and perhaps even educate you that, generally, with bacon much less can style a lot extra.

Summer time watermelon salad with crispy bacon, feta cheese, torn basil, and toasted pumpkin seeds
Recipe by Chef Michael Fiorelli from mar’sel at Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes

What you’ll want:
1 medium seedless watermelon, peeled and diced (about 8 cups)
8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
12 bacon strips, small diced
1 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted and calmly salted*
1 small bunch basil, leaves picked and roughly torn
3 ounces rice wine vinegar
1 ounce additional virgin olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp finely cracked black pepper

The way to make it:
1. After dicing the watermelon, place the cubes a colander over a big bowl and set within the fridge to empty whereas making ready the remainder of the salad.

2. In a big pan, slowly render the diced bacon till crispy. Discard bacon fats and set bacon apart on a paper towel to chill.

3. When able to serve toss the watermelon with the salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar and permit to marinate for 10 minutes. Pull the watermelon out of the oil and vinegar marinade leaving the surplus liquid behind. Switch to a 9 x 9 casserole dish or a big shallow bowl. Prime with torn basil, toasted pumpkin seeds, feta and bacon. Serves 10.

*I used hulled sunflower seeds—tasted nice.