In this salad it gets topped with charred romaine (wait until you bite into something that is smoky and refreshing), blistered tomatoes, and a bacon vinaigrette. Then we added diced comté, one of our favorite hard cheeses—it’s both nutty and creamy. Cook, relax, and enjoy!

What you’ll need:
¾ cup black quinoa
3 oz thick cut bacon
1 pint Sungold tomatoes
1 romaine heart
1 small shallot
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 lemon
1½ oz comté
fresh parsley
olive oil
coarse salt
freshly ground pepper
1 large egg

Equipment:
2 small saucepans
large skillet
rimmed baking sheet

Recipe steps:

1. Cook quinoa
   Rinse quinoa in a fine mesh sieve. Place in a small saucepan with 1 ¼ cups water and a pinch salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cover. Cook until quinoa is tender and water is absorbed, 15–18 minutes.

2. Cook bacon & boil egg
   Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp, 5–7 minutes. Drain on paper towels and break into bite-size pieces; reserve fat and skillet. Place egg in a small saucepan and cover with 1” cold water. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and cover. Let sit, covered, 10 minutes. Peel under cool running water.

3. Char vegetables
   Preheat broiler with rack in the top position. Place tomatoes on half of a rimmed baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon oil, broil tomatoes until they start to burst, about 3 minutes. Halve romaine heart lengthwise and place next to tomatoes. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil, return to the oven and broil until lightly charred, about 4 minutes. Let cool, then roughly chop lettuce.

4. Make dressing
   Meanwhile, halve, peel and finely chop shallot. Return bacon fat to medium-high heat. Add shallot, season with salt and sauté until translucent, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add vinegar. Halve lemon and squeeze into skillet. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.

5. Prep salad ingredients
   Break comte into small pieces and pick parsley leaves from stems. Chop boiled egg and romaine.

6. Assemble & serve
   Transfer quinoa to a platter and top with chopped romaine, charred tomatoes, comte, hard boiled egg, bacon, and parsley. Drizzle all with dressing, a little olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!