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Crispy bacon, peak-summer tomatoes, and buttery avocado tumbled with al dente rotini, the whole thing dressed in a warm bacon fat vinaigrette that coats every spiral and celebrates the genius of American potluck cooking.
The BLT is one of America's perfect inventions. Three ingredients in ideal balance: smoky pork fat, acidic tomato, crisp lettuce, all held together by bread and mayonnaise. It requires nothing more. But sometimes you need to feed a crowd, and sandwiches don't travel well to picnics. This pasta salad solves that problem without betraying the original.
The trick is the dressing. Most pasta salads drown in mayonnaise until every ingredient tastes the same. Here, we use the rendered bacon fat while it's still warm, whisked with red wine vinegar and a touch of Dijon. The fat coats the pasta and carries bacon flavor into every bite. The mayonnaise appears only in moderation, enriching the vinaigrette rather than dominating it.
I've brought this dish to more summer gatherings than I can count. Church potlucks in the Midwest, backyard cookouts in Texas, beach picnics on the California coast. It travels beautifully. The avocado gets added just before serving to prevent browning, and the lettuce stays crisp because it goes on top rather than getting buried. This is the kind of practical, generous cooking that defines American summer entertaining.
Use the best tomatoes you can find. If they're not in season, don't make this salad. Wait until August when the farmers' market overflows with fruit so ripe it threatens to split its skin. That tomato juice mingles with the bacon fat dressing and creates something no winter hothouse specimen could replicate.
Quantity
1 pound
Quantity
1 pound
Quantity
1/4 cup
Quantity
2 tablespoons
Quantity
1/3 cup
Quantity
2 cloves
minced
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
1 1/2 pounds
cut into 1-inch pieces
Quantity
2
Quantity
1 head
chopped
Quantity
4
thinly sliced
Quantity
for garnish
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| rotini pasta | 1 pound |
| thick-cut bacon | 1 pound |
| red wine vinegar | 1/4 cup |
| Dijon mustard | 2 tablespoons |
| mayonnaise | 1/3 cup |
| garlicminced | 2 cloves |
| kosher salt | 1 teaspoon |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
| ripe tomatoescut into 1-inch pieces | 1 1/2 pounds |
| ripe avocados | 2 |
| romaine lettucechopped | 1 head |
| green onionsthinly sliced | 4 |
| fresh chives (optional) | for garnish |
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt it generously. It should taste like the sea. Add the rotini and cook until al dente, about one minute less than the package suggests. The pasta will absorb some dressing and soften slightly as it sits. Drain thoroughly and spread on a sheet pan to cool. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking.
Lay the bacon strips in a single layer in a large cold skillet. Place over medium heat and cook slowly, turning occasionally, until the fat renders and the bacon crisps evenly. This takes 12 to 15 minutes. Patience here matters. Rushing produces chewy bacon with unrendered fat. When the strips are deeply golden and shatter when bent, transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve 1/4 cup of the rendered fat in a heatproof bowl.
While the bacon fat is still warm (not smoking hot, but liquid), whisk in the red wine vinegar. It will sputter briefly. Add the Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Whisk vigorously until emulsified and creamy. The dressing should coat a spoon but still flow easily. Taste it. Adjust the vinegar if it needs more brightness, or add a pinch of sugar if your tomatoes run acidic.
Transfer the cooled pasta to your largest mixing bowl. Pour the warm dressing over it and toss thoroughly with tongs or two large spoons. Every spiral should glisten. The residual warmth helps the pasta absorb flavor. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, tossing once more halfway through.
Cut your tomatoes into generous one-inch pieces, capturing any juice that escapes on the cutting board. That juice goes into the salad. Halve the avocados, remove the pits, and cut the flesh into similar-sized cubes. Crumble the cooled bacon into rough pieces, some large enough to identify, others in smaller bits that will distribute throughout.
Add the tomatoes with their juice and three-quarters of the bacon to the dressed pasta. Fold gently. Transfer to a wide serving bowl or platter. Scatter the avocado cubes across the top, followed by the chopped romaine, remaining bacon, and sliced green onions. Finish with a generous snipping of fresh chives. Do not toss again. The layers create visual appeal and textural contrast.
Present immediately for optimal texture, or cover and refrigerate for up to two hours. If serving later, add the avocado, lettuce, and final bacon just before bringing to the table. Provide a large serving spoon and encourage guests to dig deep, getting pasta from the bottom and fresh toppings from the surface in each portion.
1 serving (about 425g)
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