Bacon Naan Roll
Are you ready for a fun twist on a familiar breakfast idea?
I think for most of us, bacon is a breakfast staple. If not, well, I won’t tell you to change your life, because you are probably healthier than I am. Keep it up!
For the rest of us, this sandwich is heaven! Bacon is already MVP of breakfast sandwiches and even tacos, but at least in my experience, it’s rarely billed as the star, except in that one Harry Potter book where Mrs. Weasly made a stack of bacon sandwiches for Harry and Ron, and then I spent probably too much time wondering what plain bread and bacon taste like together. Probably delicious, but I still want something more to go with the bacon, you know?
And here, we get something more! I’ve learned that plain bacon sandwiches are kind of a British thing (I think) and in London, I tried a variation on that classic updated with cream cheese, scallions, and tomato sauce and wrapped in soft, griddled naan instead of smashed between two pieces of bread. This wrap, the bacon naan roll, is the signature breakfast dish at Dishoom, and if you go to London and land in the morning, seriously, Dishoom should be your first stop. Run, don’t walk there immediately, even with your luggage still in tow. They have multiple locations so chances are there will be one near your hotel.
I’m not going back to London anytime soon, but lucky for me, this could not be simpler to recreate at home. I whipped up a batch of scallion cream cheese, fried up some bacon, and added hot sauce to the sauciest gourmet ketchup I could find. All of that got rolled up in soft, homemade yogurt naans, which I would highly recommend. However, store-bought will do if you don’t want to bother with making naan first thing in the morning (but honestly the level of effort is less than french toast so I say go for it)!
Bacon Naan Roll
Inspired by Dishoom’s famous breakfast roll.
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3 scallions, thinly sliced
12 strips of bacon
1/4 cup spicy tomato relish (see notes)
4 naan (homemade recipe below)
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a mixing bowl, add the cream cheese. Whip on medium-high speed with a whisk attachment until lightened and fluffy. Add in the scallions and fold to combine with the cream cheese.
In a large, heavy skillet, cook the bacon until just crispy. You don’t want it over-crisp for these sandwiches so the bacon can easily fold up in the naan. Drain bacon on paper towels and set aside.
Wipe out your skillet and place a naan in the skillet. Cook for about 30 seconds on each side to warm the naan. Transfer to a plate and wrap in a clean dishcloth. Repeat with remaining naan.
Assemble the naan rolls: Spread a layer of scallion cream cheese onto each naan, as much or as little as you like, though indulging here is not a bad idea! On top of the cream cheese, spoon a bit of the tomato relish and spread around. Place 3 strips of bacon on top and fold the naan up into a roll, either in a cylinder like a closed taco or like a burrito with one end open, if your naan is big enough. Enjoy warm!
Notes:
The tomato sauce on the bacon roll I had in the restaurant reminded me a lot of the “house-made ketchup” a lot of restaurants insist on serving. So, to approximate it, try buying the fanciest ketchup you can, or if you can find it, I found a sauce called “tomato Irish relish” that had the exact consistency I wanted, and mixed with a tablespoon of hot sauce, the perfect sweet-spicy flavor I was looking for.
If you want to make your own naan (recipe adapted from Power Vegetables):
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
2/3 cups plain, whole milk yogurt
olive oil, for cooking
Whisk together dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, then stir in the yogurt. Knead the mixture with your hands to fully combine into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least one hour.
Heat a cast iron or other heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Divide your dough into 4 balls, and roll each into 8-inch disks.
Cook one at a time in the pan. Drizzle the pan with a little olive oil, then place a dough disk in the pan. Cook for about 1 minute on each side, until bubbles start to form and the dough looks a little puffy. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining dough. Keep warm covered with a clean dish towel if using right away.