Salad Lyonnaise

Photo: flickr user avlxyz

Ingredients

8 cups frisee - (8 oz) rinsed, crisped

(or tender inner curly endive leaves)

pound French bread sliced, toasted

pound side bacon cut ¼" dice

3 lrgs eggs - (to 4)

cup white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Salt to taste

Freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Preparation

Tear frisee into bite-size pieces and place in a wide salad bowl.

Tear bread into 1/2-inch chunks and scatter over the greens.

Put bacon in a 10- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan over medium heat and stir often until browned and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to towels to drain.

Break eggs into drippings in pan, and when whites are firm on the bottom, slide a spatula under each egg and, if desired, carefully turn over. Cook until whites are no longer clear, about 1 minute total. With spatula, transfer eggs to a plate (place side by side); keep warm.

Quickly discard all but 2 tablespoons fat from pan. Turn heat to high, add vinegar and mustard, and whisk until mixture boils.

Pour hot dressing over frisee and bread, add bacon, and mix. Spoon into wide bowls and top each serving with a hot egg. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

This recipe yields 3 or 4 servings.

Comments: On my first serious eating trip to Paris, I made a mini culinary tour of the whole country by hitting the best of the city's regional restaurants. I had read in Larousse Gastronomique that Lyon was the culinary capital of France - famous for the poultry of Bresse and lots of pigs. So Aux Lyonnaise represented rich turf. One of those Lyonnaise porkers had, no doubt, given all for the bacon (lardon) in the time-honored salad I ordered - a meal well suited to a chilling night.

If side bacon is not available, cut sliced bacon crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces.