Frisée Salad with Lardons and Roquefort
With the vibe of a bistro classic, this salad eats like what might happen if a salade lyonnaise (frisée, lardons, poached egg) crashed into a salad of endives, roquefort, walnut and apple.
It deliciously solves the problem of poaching four eggs to plop atop salads at dinnertime, which sounds too stressful for most nights or lunches; the rich umami of crumbled Roquefort stands in nicely, and the tang of a shalloty sherry vinaigrette balances it out.
It’s also very adaptable. If you don’t find frisée, you can use endives (cut in slivers or bands or left whole if they’re small) or torn escarole (they’re all related), or even mix up the three. Can’t find slab bacon? Use sliced, cook till it’s just starting to brown, and cut it into strips; or crisp some prosciutto in the oven (as in this recipe) and crumble it a bit. Don’t have shallots or sherry vinegar? Use red onion and white wine vinegar, Champagne vinegar or apple cider vinegar. In place of Roquefort, you can use another French blue such as Bleu d’Auvergne or Fourme d’Ambert (or an American blue, like Maytag). You just don’t want to use a blue that’s too creamy.
Finally, you can include the bacon fat in the dressing if you’d like a richer salad, or save the fat for something else and use only olive oil for a lighter salad.
Note: This recipe makes enough vinaigrette for the exact amount of ingredients listed below. If you use more frisée, you might need a bit more vinegar and olive oil.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
3 ounces / 85 grams slab bacon (without the rind)
2 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (depending on whether you’re using the bacon fat in the dressing)
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon water
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 medium shallot, minced (about 1 tablespoon), rinsed about a minute in cold water and drained
Freshly ground black pepper
I medium head of frisée, about 6 ounces / 170 grams, washed, dried and torn
3 ounces / 85 grams Roquefort, cut/crumbled into bits of about 1/2 inch / 12 mm
Instructions
1. Make the lardons: Cut the bacon into thick strips about 1/4 inch X 1/4 inch X 3/4 inch or thereabouts (maybe a little thicker than 1/4 inch, maybe a little shorter than 3/4 inch), or 7 mm X 7 mm X 18 mm. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a small skillet or sauté pan over medium heat until it is hot, and add the lardons. Turn the heat to medium-low heat, and cook them — stirring them once or twice so all sides sear — until the fat is mostly rendered and they’re lightly brown on the edges, about 8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Either reserve the fat for another use, or set it aside for the dressing.
2. Make the dressing. Put the vinegar in a small bowl with the water, salt and Dijon mustard, and whisk together. If you’re using the bacon fat, measure it, and add enough olive oil to make three tablespoons. Using either that combo of bacon fat and olive oil, or three tablespoons of olive oil only, slowly whisk the bacon fat/oil or olive oil into the vinegar mixture till it’s emulsified. Add the shallot and about 10 grinds of black pepper and whisk again.
3. Assemble the salad: Pur the frisée in a salad bowl with the lardons and Roquefort and pour the vinaigrette over all. Toss well, and serve immediately.
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Frisée Salad with Lardons and Roquefort
Ingredients
- 3 ounces / 85 grams slab bacon (without the rind)
- 2 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (depending on whether you’re using the bacon fat in the dressing)
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 medium shallot, minced (about 1 tablespoon), rinsed about a minute in cold water and drained
- Freshly ground black pepper
- I medium head of frisée, about 6 ounces / 170 grams, washed, dried and torn
- 3 ounces / 85 grams Roquefort, cut/crumbled into bits of about 1/2 inch / 12 mm
Instructions
- Make the lardons: Cut the bacon into thick strips about 1/4 inch X 1/4 inch X 3/4 inch or thereabouts (maybe a little thicker than 1/4 inch, maybe a little shorter than 3/4 inch), or 7 mm X 7 mm X 18 mm. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a small skillet or sauté pan over medium heat until it is hot, and add the lardons. Turn the heat to medium-low heat, and cook them — stirring them once or twice so all sides sear — until the fat is mostly rendered and they’re lightly brown on the edges, about 8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Either reserve the fat for another use, or set it aside for the dressing.
- Make the dressing. Put the vinegar in a small bowl with the water, salt and Dijon mustard, and whisk together. If you’re using the bacon fat, measure it, and add enough olive oil to make three tablespoons. Using either that combo of bacon fat and olive oil, or three tablespoons of olive oil only, slowly whisk the bacon fat/oil or olive oil into the vinegar mixture till it’s emulsified. Add the shallot and about 10 grinds of black pepper and whisk again.
- Assemble the salad: Pur the frisée in a salad bowl with the lardons and Roquefort and pour the vinaigrette over all. Toss well, and serve immediately.