Salade Lyonnaise

   

     While many restaurants were offering deals yesterday for veterans, I decided to make a special lunch at home for our veteran.  This is one of my favorite lunch salads.  It is simple, fast and slightly decadent.  

     As it names indicates, this salad originated in Lyon, France.  It is a popular menu item in French Bouchons, which are small restaurants that specialize in comfort food.  The hardest part of this salad is poaching the eggs, but Mark Bittman, formerly of the NY Times has a foolproof method.  This is a great fall lunch or even a light dinner, especially when served with a nice French wine, a baguette and a dessert of French cheeses.  And yes, it was worthy of my special Dijon mustard!

Salade Lyonnaise

Salade Lyonnaise
adapted from Mark Bittman, formerly of the NY Times


Ingredients  (for two salads)

3 strips high quality bacon
1/2 large shallot, minced
1 T Dijon mustard
4 T Sherry vinegar
2 eggs
Frisee - or other bitter green

Frisee is the green typically used for this dish; however, this can be hard to find in the States.  I used escarole which worked fine but Dear Husband also thought that arugula would  work as well.

Cut the bacon into strips (across the width) to make lardons.  Cook the bacon until crisp and the fat has rendered.  Add the shallot and cook for one minute.  Add the vinegar and mustard, whisk to combine.  Bring to a boil, turn off heat.

Bring one inch of salted water in a skillet to a boil; lower the heat to a simmer.  Crack one egg into a ramekin and then slowly slip it into the water.  Do the same thing for the second egg.  Cook for three to five minutes.  You may want to use a spatula to lightly pull the egg from the bottom of the pan so it does not stick.   Towards the end of the cooking time, I also carefully spooned a bit of the water over the top of the egg to help it set.  With a slotted spoon, carefully spoon out the egg and place briefly on a paper towel.

Assemble the greens in a bowl.  Pour the warmed dressing over the greens and combine.  Place a mound of greens on each plate.  Top with the poached egg.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.