Bacon butties with homemade horseradish mayo

Homemade bacon butties filled with good smoky bacon and laced with horseradish and watercress just taste good. If you like more of a kick, you can add more horseradish. This recipe makes a generous amount of the mayo, but it’s hard to make less as it’s difficult to whisk 1 egg yolk. Store mayo in a sterilised jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.

• serves

  4

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 4 large smoky bacon rashers
• Butter, to spread 
• 4 ciabatta rolls or other bread rolls, cut in half
• 1 cup picked watercress leaves

Horseradish mayonnaise

• 2 egg yolks 
• 2 tsp French mustard
• 2 tsp lemon juice 
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tsp horseradish, finely grated or 1 tbs store-bought horseradish cream 
• 250ml (1 cup) sunflower oil

Instructions

To make mayonnaise, whisk egg yolks with mustard, lemon juice, zest and horseradish in a large bowl. (You will need both hands for the mayo, so the bowl needs to be fixed in place. Placing it over a saucepan with a tea towel in between will stop it moving much.)

Place oil in a jug with a narrow spout. Pour a fine thread of oil into egg mixture as you whisk. Continue whisking as you pour so it becomes emulsified (doesn’t split). If you start gently, you can get faster with the oil towards the end. Whisk until all oil is incorporated.

Add ½ tsp salt and a splash of cold water at the end. Season with salt and pepper. The mayonnaise should be rich and a bit salty, but not overly so. If it’s too rich, add more lemon juice or a splash of vinegar to cut the fattiness. Makes 1½ cups.

Fry the bacon to your liking. Butter the fresh bread (or make toast) and place bacon on top of 4 bread slices, spread the other 4 slices generously with horseradish mayonnaise, and add the watercress to the middle. Sandwich together and eat while hot.

As seen in Feast Magazine, Issue 15, pg36.

Photography by Alan Benson

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.