Bacon, egg and leeks

Tamara West

Leeks love bacon, almost as much as eggs do.

Ingredients

1	Bay leaf
3 sprigs	Fresh thyme, plus extra thyme leaves, for serving
16	Baby leeks, ends trimmed or white part of 2 medium-large leeks, cut in 4cm chunks (Main)
12	Baby carrots, peeled and trimmed (Main)
4	Eggs
2 slices	Bacon, very thick, cut in lardons (rectangles)
5 tsp	Extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp	Cider vinegar
2 tsp	Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Place bay and thyme in a saucepan just large enough to hold leeks. If using large leeks, pack the chunks in closely, cut side up. Cover leeks with water. Place on heat, bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 10 minutes or until leeks are quite tender. Gently drain leeks.
2. Meanwhile steam carrots for 3 minutes or until tender. In a separate saucepan, boil eggs for 8 minutes then cool briefly under cold running water. Cook bacon in a frying pan until lightly browned all over.
3. Arrange leeks and carrots on warmed plates. Scatter with bacon. Chop each egg in half, carefully scoop out egg and add to plates.
4. Whisk oil, vinegar and mustard together to make a dressing, and season to taste with salt. Spoon dressing over plates, grind some pepper over and scatter with a few thyme leaves.