I have not been able to stop thinking about this salad ever since I had it at Lafayette. And who can blame me? It’s basically the perfect salad. Crunchy bitter frisée (also known as curly endive) in an acidic vinaigrette, bits of bacon strewn throughout, a runny egg binding everything together, and bacon-scented croutons to pick up any remaining runny egg at the bottom of the plate.
Drooling yet?
Aside from being incredibly delicious, this salad is beautiful, too, and makes for a fancy lunch or light supper. Yes, the recipe includes poached eggs, but that’s no reason to freak out and run for the hills. Just relax, follow the instructions (and your intuition) and you’ll do just fine - even if it takes a few trials. Frisée is not super common in grocery stores so if you have trouble finding it, substitute with a mix of thinly sliced radicchio and romaine. Note: this recipe yields four portions but you can easily scale it down to serve two or just your fine self. But make the dressing as is - you can refrigerate the remains for future salads.
Salade Lyonnaise
(Yield: 4 servings)
Ingredients:
- 4 slices thick cut bacon
- 2 slices day-old country bread, cubed
- 2 Tbsp. finely diced shallot or red onion
- 3 Tbsp. apple cider vinaigrette, divided
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt + freshly ground black pepper
- 4 eggs (the freshest you can find)
- About 8 cups frisée
Procedure:
1. Bring about 5″ of water to a boil in a large saucepan for the eggs.
2. Place bacon in a large skillet over medium heat and cook, flipping once, until browned and crisp, about 6 minutes. Drain bacon on a paper towel-lined plate. Place cubed bread into skillet with bacon fat, toss to coat, and cook, tossing occasionally, until crispy - about 5 minutes.
3. While bacon and croutons cook, make the vinaigrette: combine shallot, 2 Tbsp. vinegar, mustard and pinches of salt and pepper in a bowl. Slowly stream in oil while continually whisking vinaigrette until everything is well-incorporated. Taste and season with salt, if needed. Set aside.
4. To poach eggs, turn the flame under the boiling water to a very gentle simmer and add remaining 1 Tbsp. vinegar. Break an egg into a cup. Using a slotted spoon, stir the water to create a vortex; pour egg into the vortex. Cook egg until white is set, 1-2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, lift egg out of the water and place on a kitchen towel to drain. Repeat with remaining eggs.
5. In a large bowl, using your hands, toss frisée with half of the vinaigrette - it should be lightly coated, not weighed down. Add more vinaigrette if needed. Crumble bacon and add to lettuce along with croutons. Toss to combine and divide among four plates. Top each portion with an egg and serve immediately.
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