Frisee Salad With Bacon and Poached Egg
4 servings
This is a classic French Bistro “salad” that can really be eaten any time of the day- brunch, lunch, dinner or late night supper. The French use frisee- which i find a little boring and too bitter- so mix it up with some other greens. The egg and the bacon make it very rich and the bitter greens and sharp vinaigrette help balance that richness. I find it hard to find slab bacon- to make the traditional French lardons-so i usually use extra thick bacon.
For the salad
2 heads of frisee, cored, rinsed, spun dry, and torn into bit-sized pieces
4 cups leafy greens, rinsed, spun dry, and torn as above
6 slices thick bacon cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 eggs- room temp
juice of half a lemon
For the vinaigrette
rendered bacon fat and olive oil to yield about 5 T total
1 t whole grain mustard
1 t dijon mustard
2 T red wine vinegar
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Cook the bacon pieces until crispy- about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove to a plate lined with a paper towel. Set aside.
Pour the bacon fat into a mixing bowl and add enough olive oil to make it about 5 Tablespoons. In another small bowl put the mustards, vinegar and a pinch of salt and a good grinding of black pepper- whisk it all up.
Gently pour the bacon/oil into the vinegar- whisking all the while until smooth. Taste for acid and seasoning. Set aside.
Get the poaching water ready. Fill a deep saute pan- straight sides works best- with 3 inches or so with water- add the lemon juice (helps keeps the whites from breaking up) and put stove on high heat. Crack the eggs into little individual cups.
At this point I like to assemble the salad so the poached egg can go on top right before serving.
In a large salad bowl toss the greens with the vinaigrette- Divide the greens onto 4 plates. Sprinkle the lardons on each salad.
When the water is at a rolling boil, with the bowl just touching the water slide the eggs in. Repeat with the rest of the eggs. Turn down heat a little- so it’s just simmering. Cook for about 4 minutes.
When the eggs are done- (whites set and yolks still runny)remove from the water with a slotted spoon- trimming off any scrappy egg whites- and place on top of the salad. Serve with some crusty french bread.
