Backwards BLT
By Normand Laprise of Toqué
Serves 4
Preparation: 1 hr
- 12 thin slices of pancetta (not rolled)
- 4 medium tomatoes
- 4 tbsp chardonnay vinegar
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- Maldon salt and pepper
- 4 tbsp shallots, minced
- 250 ml (1 cup) mayonnaise
- 12 basil leaves
- 12 lettuce leaves
- Chives
- 4 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
- 4 tbsp fried bread
Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F). Place the pancetta slices between two sheets of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Cook for 10 to 20 minutes until golden and crunchy. Set aside.
With a small knife, score an X on the underside of the tomatoes and blanch them in boiling water for 15 seconds. Before peeling, cool the tomatoes in a bowl of ice water. Set aside on paper towels. Remove the heart of each tomato with an apple corer, and then slice each fruit horizontally into three equal slices. Keep the slices of each tomato separate, so that they can be easily restacked later.
Finishing Touches
Place the tomato slices on a baking tray, in such a way that each tomato can be easily reconstructed later. Drizzle a little vinegar and olive oil on each slice (except the topmost), adding Maldon salt, pepper, shallots, mayonnaise, a basil leaf, a lettuce leaf, chives, Parmesan cheese and fried bread.
Finally, place a slice of pancetta on each tomato slice. Stack the slices one on top of the other to re-form a full tomato. Add a bit of mayonnaise in the hole made by the apple-corer. Sprinkle with olive oil and season with Maldon salt.
