“This bistro favourite conforms to the unwritten French rule that all salads require copious quantities of either meat or cheese to qualify as such. Salade Lyonnaise is traditionally made with dandelion greens but bitter frisée lettuce makes a good substitute, as does chicory, or indeed a bag of crunchy mixed leaves.” – Felicity Cloake.
Carry on the French theme with a classic tuna niçoise salad, with garlic and herb dressing.
Ingredients
- ½ thin baguette
- Olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, cut in half
- 2 curly endive/frisée lettuces (see Felicity’s introduction)
- 150g smoked bacon lardons
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 4 very fresh large free-range eggs
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Cut the baguette into thin slices, arrange on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 12-15 minutes until crisp, then rub with half a garlic clove and set aside.
- Wash the lettuce well, shake to get rid of excess water, then separate the leaves and put on clean tea towels to dry.
- Heat a dash of oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the lardons until bronzed and crisp. Stir in the mustard, then the vinegar, scraping the pan. Set aside.
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Crack in the eggs and turn down the heat to a simmer. Poach for 3 minutes, then scoop out and put on kitchen paper (see Make Ahead).
- Rub the remaining garlic over the inside of a large serving bowl. Add the salad leaves, then the lardons, and toss well. Divide among 4 bowls, top each with a poached egg and serve with the baguette slices.
Nutrition
- 334kcals, Calories
- 19.4g (4.9g saturated) Fat
- 17.9g Protein
- 21g (1.8g sugars) Carbs
- 1.8g Fibre
- 2.1g Salt
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