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BLT Mini Cups

Source of Recipe

From "In the Kitchen with David" by David Venable


Recipe Introduction

"BLTs were a summer lunch staple at our house. My mother had a sunny garden patch right outside our kitchen where she planted three tomato seedlings every spring. She picked the tomatoes when they were just shy of ripe and let them finish maturing on the windowsill. Slices of warm homegrown tomatoes, crisp bacon slices, and a few lettuce leaves between two slices of mayonnaise-smeared bread is still one of my favorite sandwiches. I was determined to create a BLT appetizer with those same memorable ingredients. One of bacon's many wonders is that it can be molded into all kinds of shapes. Here it is cut into pieces to fit mini muffin cups. When turned out, the bacon cups hold their shapes. Here it is cut into pieces to fit mini muffin cups. When turned out, the bacon cups hold their shape. These one-bite BLTs are a new twist on a classic. Allow yourself extra time to get the technique just right."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ Vegetable oil spray
â—¦ 6 thin bacon slices, cut in half
â—¦ ½ cup mayonnaise
â—¦ 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
â—¦ 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut into small dice
â—¦ 1 celery stalk, cut into small dice
â—¦ 3 scallions, cut into small dice
â—¦ 4 or 5 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
â—¦ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
â—¦ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
â—¦ 3 slices thin white sandwich bread, toasted, crusts removed, and quartered
â—¦ Finely chopped fresh parsley


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Invert a 12-cup mini muffin pan on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Lightly spray the inverted muffin cups with the vegetable oil spray.

Wrap half a strip of bacon around the circumference of a muffin cup and bring the "tail" up over the flat top to form a cup. Repeat with the remaining bacon. Spray the insides of a second mini muffin pan and place the pan upside down on top of the first one to hold the bacon cups in place and keep the bacon from shrinking. Don't press the muffin pan. Bake until crisp, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Remove the top muffin tin, then carefully remove each bacon cup to a paper towel-lined plate.

Whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, and pepper in a bowl. In another bowl, mix together the tomatoes, celery, scallions, basil, and salt. Divide the tomato mixture among the bacon cups. Top with a dollop of the mayonnaise mixture. Lightly butter the toast squares. Place a bacon cup on each square and garnish with the parsley before serving.

Makes 12 cups