Roasted Jalapeno BLT’s with Basil:
It’s warm enough outside to post this (slightly) modified recipe here again. I wish for you all’s sakes that everyone reading this eats as many blt’s as they can hold while tomatoes are in season.
One note though is that this recipe would be better named BBT, as ideally basil is the main green on this sandwich (and the lettuce can become somewhat optional, though it’s great to use both if you have them). The only problem with BBT is that it used to be some regional savings and loan bank in NC, is probably is still in business somewhere. And naming a great sandwich after a bank just seems like some sort of cosmic bad manners.
(posted by Skip)
Roasted Jalapeno BLT’s with Basil:
Ingredients:
Bacon – Even when it’s bad, bacon is good, but I would buy something that will not taste floppy, rubbery or otherwise microwaved.
Lettuce – this is fairly easy, use what you like on a sandwich.
Basil – This in my opinion can completely sub out for the lettuce if you have enough. Otherise add it too.
Tomatoes – Not to be underestimated as the real honey in this sandwich. Again if possible, use good ones, ideally ones bought from a farmer as opposed to a kroger.
Jalapenos -
Fresh basil – you can use as much or as little as you have. The more the better, to go with the
Bread – Anything can work here, but if you can afford some kind of artisan bread (even whatever’s in the kroger bakery section — they usually carry La Brea, I think), it will really pay off.
1 – Roast Jalapenos – There are a couple ways to do this, though if you don’t have a lot of time, I usually roast them in a frying pan with a little olive oil. It’s best to do this with the pan covered, so as to prevent your whole family from crying and coughing for a half hour. The capsaicin in the peppers (when released during cooking) gets into the air and stays for a while. It’s especially nasty with water /steam. Oil will tame it some, but keep the pan covered nonetheless. Once the jalapenos have turned bright green in the pan, remove from heat and probably leave the lid on until they cool down.
2 – Cook Bacon. Do this however you usually cook it, however you like it best. Need instructions on how to cook bacon? Here is a pretty great (though unexpected way) to do it from America’s Test Kitchen. ** This below method works less when you are trying to cook a lot of bacon, as you have to do it multiple times.
3 – Cut tomatoes, wash lettuce etc.
4 – Finely chop the roasted jalapenos and for spreading onto bread (with mayonaise – if you like mayonaise)
5 – Toast the bread. Again lots of ways to do this, I usually spread some olive oil and a little kosher salt on the sliced bread and broil it in the oven (I only toast one side of the bread, but whatever you like here) . If we have fresh rosemary, or Herbes de Provence I’ll chop it and add it to the bread too.
6 – Assemble sandwiches: Spread the jalapenos with or without mayonaise on the bread. If you aren’t going to use mayonaise and the peppers look a little dry, you may want to add a very small amount of olive oil to the peppers (after chopping) to encourage them to “spead”. From here it’s pretty standard architecture for a BLT, only adding fresh basil to the leaves if available. Don’t be afraid to use a lot of tomatoes and/or bacon.