For many years I’d assumed, erroneously so apparently, that bacon comes from pigs. Imagine my surprise when kindly friends pointed out that it is in fact the fruit of the Porcus Excellentia tree. These would be my veggie friends. The ones who judge me for my roast leg of lamb and leather shoes – but eat BLT sarmies.
Yup, if anything’s bound to bring out the hypocrite in people, it’s bacon. Can’t say I blame them really. Something utterly wonderful happens when pork meets smoke and who would want to miss out on that.
Bacon and avo. Bacon and feta. Bacon and, and, and… The list of good bacon combos is pretty much endless, but pride of place probably has to go to bacon and eggs. I’d happily eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
A few days ago I spotted some smoked pork neck steaks from Old Smoke House at Checkers. The perfect size for a burger bun and under R20 for two, naturally in my basket they went. That evening I fried up some eggs in olive oil with a generous sprinkling of rosemary. I piled a toasted burger bun with lettuce and rocket, a fat ‘bacon’ steak, a runny sunny-side-up egg and a sprinkling of crunchy fried rosemary. To top it off, and prove that I had actually gone to some effort, I whipped up a little cherry tomato relish too. Bacon, eggs and tomato sauce – my way.
Until next time,
Lizet
All you need is…
For the relish
1 red onion, very finely chopped
pinch of dried chilli flakes
tin of cherry tomatoes (Woolies has)
¼ tsp salt
grinding of black pepper
2 tsp dark brown sugar
½ tsp red wine vinegar
For the burger
4 smoked pork neck steaks (look for Old Smoke House at Checkers)
4 burger buns
4 jumbo free-range eggs
sprig of fresh rosemary
quality olive oil
To make the tomato relish, fry the onion in a tablespoon or two of olive oil until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 5 minutes.
Cut the buns in half and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Place under your grill to brown. Fry the pork steaks in olive oil until done, remove and keep warm. (These are thin and will cook very fast. A few minutes is all it takes. You want them juicy, not dry.)
Wipe the pan clean, add two tablespoons of olive oil and fry the eggs. Scatter a tablespoon of rosemary leaves in the oil at the same time. Top the toasted buns with lettuce (to be honest this is optional, it’s just as good without), the pork steak, an egg and scatter over the crisp rosemary leaves. Serve immediately with the warm tomato relish on the side.
serves
4
prep
2 min
cook
10 min
good to know
Eggs – better for you thank you think!
Eggs are one of the few foods considered a complete protein as they contain all nine essential amino acids. Eggs also contain 14 key ingredients that your body loves – things like iron and vitamins A, D, E and B12.
The world has changed its view of eggs, they’re no longer considered cholesterol nightmares. Most nutritional professionals now believe you may eat an egg a day. Want to know more about eggs? Check out this awesome site.
enjoy with
Say egg and I say Chardonnay. This is a cultivar that goes well with creamy and rich foods like egg yolk. Chardonnay tends to be on the expensive side. A top one is certainly an ‘occasion’ wine.
But it is possible to get a quaffable one for every day for under R50. Like KWV’s from their Classic Collection range.
This looks absolutely delish! Can’t wait to try it!!