Serves 4

• 1 pound bacon lardons (see recipe for bacon below)
• 1/2 cup shallots, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 10 ounces baby spinach, stems removed, cleaned and dried
• 2 ounces arugula, stems removed, cleaned and dried
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon good balsamic vinegar
• 4 eggs, poached or hard-cooked
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 4 slices of a good French baguette, lightly toasted

1. Place the lardons in a sauté pan that will hold them snugly in one layer. Fill the pan with enough cold water to just cover the lardons. Cook the bacon over high heat until the water has boiled off and the fat has begun to render. Then turn the heat to medium low and continue cooking until the lardons are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside (it's a good idea to taste them to make sure). Place the shallots in a sauté pan with the olive oil over high heat and cook until the shallots begin to sweat, then reduce the heat to medium low and continue cooking until the shallots just begin to brown.
2. In the meantime, combine the spinach and arugula in a large bowl that will facilitate tossing. Sprinkle the greens with kosher salt to taste about 5 minutes before you complete the salad. When you're ready to serve, turn the shallots and bacon up to high; they should be very hot. Sprinkle the shallots over the greens. Pour the lardons and their fat over the greens (use only as much fat as you need to coat all the greens; reserve the remaining fat for another use). Toss the greens until they're nicely coated with the fat. Season the salad with the red wine vinegar and the balsamic to taste. Divide the salad into 4 pasta bowls, top with a poached egg or chopped hard-boiled egg, and serve with a slice of a good baguette that's been brushed with olive oil or extra bacon fat.

Bacon

• 1 3- to 5-pound pork belly, skin on, sides squared off to make a clean rectangle
• 1/2 cup Master Curing Salt, enough to dredge belly
• 1 2-gallon Ziplock bag or a non-reactive container just big enough to hold the meat

1. Place the pork belly on a sheet pan. Cover it with the Master Curing Salt, rubbing it into all sides of the belly, and dredging it so that it's completely coated. Place the belly into the plastic bag, discarding any cure that remains on the sheet tray. Seal the bag or cover the belly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the belly for 5 days, flipping the belly every other day to redistribute the cure. After 5 days, the pork belly should feel stiff and dense when you squeeze it. If your belly is very thick, more than 2 inches, it may feel squishy in the center. If so, return it to the refrigerator for up to 2 more days.
2. When the belly is cured, rinse it thoroughly under cold running water, wiping off the cure, then pat it dry with paper towels. The belly can be refrigerated uncovered for up to 3 days at this point. It's best to let the belly rest for at least 4 hours to allow the salt concentration on the surface to redistribute. Discard the cure. Place the belly on a rack on a sheet tray and cook it in a 200°F oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 150°F (about 2 hours; start checking at 1 1/2 hours). When it's cool enough to handle, slice the skin off, leaving as much fat as possible on the belly. Discard the skin (or braise till tender, cut into strips, and fry in rendered pig fat for a tasty snack!). Refrigerate the bacon or freeze it until ready to use. To make lardons, cut 1/2-inch slices, then cut again into 1/2-inch batons and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

>>This recipe appears in Episode #305.

>> For additional recipes and more, visit www.ming.com