Iron Chef Michael Symon's Crispy Fresh Bacon with Grilled Haloumi and Pickled Green Tomatoes

Legendary in his native Cleveland for Lola, Iron Chef Michael Symon is one of the fastest rising food stars in the nation. Recently awarded the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Great Lakes Region, Chef Symon keeps himself busy not only with filming Iron Chef and Lola, but also with Cleveland's Lolita, and Detroit's Roast.

I had the pleasure of dining at Roast in February, and was quite taken with Chef Symon's Crispy Fresh Bacon with Grilled Haloumi and Pickled Green Tomatoes, and set about to reverse engineering it. My version is not as velvety as Chef Symon's - I think he used larger and fattier pieces of bacon - but it's a pretty close approximation, and I'm really happy with it.

It's a little complex, but a lot tasty, and well worth the effort.

Ingredients:

1/4 slab bacon



1 pound haloumi - the national cheese of Cyprus!



small bunch baby arugula
pickled green tomatoes

A cast iron skillet for grilling the haloumi is a plus, and you'll want a large pan for searing, then roasting the bacon.

The pickled green tomatoes need to be done AT LEAST the night before. Use Chef Symon's brining recipe, substituting green tomato wedges for the chilis. The longer they sit, the stronger the taste. I think the light pickle works really well.