Salade Lyonnaise

The Trout found a great recipe in the New York Times and tonight was the night to try it. Unfortunately, to find frisee lettuce in central Florida is kind of a challenge. We did see some at Whole Foods in Tampa, but it was $2.99 for a very small bunch and we would have needed at least three for this salad. So, we kept searching. I am very frugal.

Thought Arugula would work fine, but settled for an endive. It turned out alright, but Arugula would probably have been the better choice. So, let me tell you what we did.

Salade Lyonnaise

4 cups of torn frisee or other strong tasting greens, washed and dried

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

about 1/2 pound good slab bacon or pancetta, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 shallot, chopped or 1 tablespoon chopped red onion

2 to 4 tablespoons top-quality sherry vinegar

1 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Salt

4 eggs

Freshly ground pepper

1. Put frisee or other greens in a large salad bowl. Put olive oil in skillet over medium heat. When hot, add bacon and cook slowly until crisp all over, about 10 minutes. Add shallot or onion and cook until softened, a minute or two. Add vinegar and mustard to the skillet and bring just to a boil, stirring, then turn off the heat.

2. Meanwhile, bring an inch of salted water to a boil in a small, deep skillet, then lower heat to barely bubbling. One at a time, break eggs into a shallow bowl and slip them into the bubbling water. Cook eggs for 3 to 5 minutes, just until the white is set and the yolk has filmed over. Remove each egg with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on paper towel.

3. If necessary, gently reheat dressing, then pour over greens. They should wilt just a bit. Toss and season to taste. Top each portion with an egg and serve immediately. Each person gets to break the egg.

This was a lovely light summer dinner. We did serve it along side a crab cake. I did not make the crab cake. It was purchased at Costco, Phillips brand, and we really like them a lot.