Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs and crispy bacon in the ultimate healthly salad.

This salad features two ways of cooking perfect hard boiled eggs. If you love bacon and eggs but don't fancy the idea of a greasy cook-up, then this is a healthy alternative. Served with crusty bread, it is a satisfyingly light meal-in-one. If you are not able to get fresh asparagus, you can substitute fresh snap peas or mange-tout and follow the same cooking instructions. You can also omit the pecan nuts and add black olives instead. This is a great recipe to play around with according to what is in season. As a winter variation, you could replace the asparagus with diced boiled potatoes.

Ingredients:

Method:

1. Fry the bacon until crisp and drain on absorbent paper. Alternatively you can place the bacon on a lightly greased baking tray, in a single layer, and bake at 350° F / 180° C / Gas mark 4 for 15 - 20 minutes until crisp. Turn the bacon once during the cooking to ensure that both sides are brown. Chop into little bits and keep aside.
2. Whilst the bacon is cooking, bring 2 pints / 1 liter of water to the boil in a pot. Add a teaspoon of salt. When it is boiling very rapidly, add the asparagus and cook for 1 - 2 minutes. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and plunge into a basin of cold water to stop it cooking further. It should be just cooked and slightly crisp when you bite on it. Keep aside.

Now for the perfect hard boiled eggs:

3. METHOD 1. Firstly, the eggs should be a few days old, otherwise they are difficult to peel. Add the eggs to the same water (to save time and washing! Purists would be horrified!). Make sure that there is enough water to cover the eggs by at least an inch. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Using a large spoon, lower the eggs into the pan, in a single layer. Simmer over a medium heat for 8 minutes. To my mind, they are ideal when the whites are hard, and the yolks are also mostly hard but just slightly soft and dark yellow at the very center. If you want a hard yolk all the way through, cook for one extra minute.
4. METHOD 2. This is another variation on cooking the perfect hard boiled egg. It is easier and there is more margin for error. Place the eggs in a single layer in a pan and cover by at least an inch with COLD water. Gently bring to the boil. (Heating gently stops the shells cracking). Once at boiling point, boil for one minute. Then remove from the heat and allow to stand for between 15 - 20 minutes. After 15 minutes, peel one egg and test the readiness and you will find that they should be hard and without that horrid gray ring around the yolk.
5. Assemble the salad. Break up the salad leaves in a large salad bowl. Toss on top the asparagus and baby tomatoes. Then sprinkle over the grated cheese, pecan nuts or olives and bacon bits or ham. Lastly quarter your perfect hard boiled eggs and place them on top!

Ingredients for dressing:

Method:

Blend all the ingredients together and serve in a small jug alongside the salad. It is worth doubling or tripling the vinaigrette ingredients and keeping the extra in the fridge for anyone who snacks on salad.

Return from Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs to 30 Minute Meals

Return to Easy Meal Planning