Recipe - Garden Salad With Smoked Tomato Dressing

NW
2 sl Bacon; minced
1 lg Tomato
2 teaspoon Tomato paste
1 Clove roasted garlic
1 Shallot; minced
1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoon Raspberry vinegar
One fourth cup Corn oil
One fourth cup Olive oil
Salt
12 cup (78 oz) assorted young
lettuce leaves; such as
romaine, bibb, arugula &
red oak leaf rinsed, dried

In a skillet, cook the bacon until the fat is rendered; reserve bacon and
fat separately. Smoke the tomato for 15 minutes (in a skillet turning often
until over mediumhigh heat). Remove peel, slice in half and squeeze the
juice from the tomato into a small saucepan. Reserve the tomato. Add the
tomato paste to the saucepan and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes,
stirring often until thickened.

Place the tomato paste and tomato in a blender with the garlic, shallot,
and vinegars. Puree for 30 seconds. Combine the bacon fat and oils, and
with the blender on low, drizzle into the puree. Season with salt.

Place the lettuces in a large mixing bowl. Add the blended dressing and
toss gently but thoroughly. Divide among 4 or 6 plates and top each salad
with some of the reserved bacon.

Source: The New Texas Cuisine by Stephan Phyles ISBN 0385=423365
Posted to MCRecipe Digest by "M. Hicks" nitro_ii@email.msn.com on Feb 2,
1998