Salad of Frisee, Champagne Vinaigrette Bacon Lardon, Slow-poached hen egg, Crumbled brioche
This is a salad, invented in the town (Lyon) that lends it's name, that when executed properly comes very close to perfection. It is a staple on any respectable French bistro's menu and my all-time favorite. I am known to put an egg on top of almost anything, whether it actually needs it or not. I have a hard time holding back. But this salad is a prime example of a dish where the egg makes sense.
This is a really simple dish to make but also a really simple dish to mess up. Every ingredient has to be in harmony with the others. It would be very American to pile this thing with bacon but that's all that you would taste. And as an egg fanatic I could get a little crazy and use two resulting in more of an egg yolk salad. So restraint is a good word to remember when building this salad.
I start by slow-poaching the eggs. I leave them in the shell and cook them in a water bath which is held at 145 degrees for 50 minutes. I cool them quickly in ice water and refrigerate them until ready to use. They will be good for a few days. Just before plating I sit the eggs in hot tap water for a couple of minutes before gently cracking them open to reveal a perfectly poached egg that retains it's eggy shape.
The frisee is dressed with olive oil and champagne vinegar, seasoned with salt and pepper and placed alongside the egg. Restraint is again used here as too much vinegar will overwhelm the salad.
I cook off the bacon lardons (my own bacon, of course) til brown and crispy. They are placed on a paper towel to absorb some of the grease and then plated on and around the frisee.
I finished the dish with brioche crumbs which were made by lightly toasting the brioche before gently crumbling it between my fingers.
Product:
Pastured Hen Egg - Mountain View Poultry
Organic Frisee Lettuce - Weaver's Way
Free-roaming heritage breed pork belly for bacon - Stryker Farms
Brioche Bread - Wild flour bakery
This is a really simple dish to make but also a really simple dish to mess up. Every ingredient has to be in harmony with the others. It would be very American to pile this thing with bacon but that's all that you would taste. And as an egg fanatic I could get a little crazy and use two resulting in more of an egg yolk salad. So restraint is a good word to remember when building this salad.
I start by slow-poaching the eggs. I leave them in the shell and cook them in a water bath which is held at 145 degrees for 50 minutes. I cool them quickly in ice water and refrigerate them until ready to use. They will be good for a few days. Just before plating I sit the eggs in hot tap water for a couple of minutes before gently cracking them open to reveal a perfectly poached egg that retains it's eggy shape.
The frisee is dressed with olive oil and champagne vinegar, seasoned with salt and pepper and placed alongside the egg. Restraint is again used here as too much vinegar will overwhelm the salad.
I cook off the bacon lardons (my own bacon, of course) til brown and crispy. They are placed on a paper towel to absorb some of the grease and then plated on and around the frisee.
I finished the dish with brioche crumbs which were made by lightly toasting the brioche before gently crumbling it between my fingers.
Product:
Pastured Hen Egg - Mountain View Poultry
Organic Frisee Lettuce - Weaver's Way
Free-roaming heritage breed pork belly for bacon - Stryker Farms
Brioche Bread - Wild flour bakery