Salade Lyonnaise

Salade Lyonnaise, or French frisée salad, is a traditional French salad made by tossing frilly frisée greens with a warm bacon vinaigrette, topped with a poached egg for a sophisticated, unctuous result. It's incredibly satisfying, and so tasty. Here's how to make it.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 507kcal

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Ingredients

▢ 1 large head frisée (French curly endive)
▢ 4 large eggs
▢ 6 ounces thick-cut, uncured bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
▢ 2 tablespoons minced shallot (about one small shallot)
▢ 4 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar, plus a splash more for the egg poaching water
▢ 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, preferably whole grain (I use Maille brand)
▢ 6 to 8 fingerling potatoes
▢ Salt and fresh-ground pepper

Instructions

For the Frisée and Potatoes

Remove the lettuce stump. Tear or chop the frisée into pieces and wash and dry the leaves. Place the frisée in a large mixing bowl. (I love this OXO salad spinner for lettuce prep.)
PRO TIP: You'll want to have the greens prepped and ready in the mixing bowl. Once you get started cooking, the steps will go fairly quickly and you want to serve the salad warm.
PRO TIP: My number one salad tip of all time is to make sure your salad greens are dry. If they are not, the lettuce won't hold the vinaigrette and will taste soggy.
If adding fingerling potatoes to the salad, wash the potatoes well and boil them in well-salted water in a small pot until fork tender (about 10 minutes). Cut each fingerling potato into a few pieces and set aside.

For the Eggs and Bacon Lardons

Fill a small pot with water. Bring the water to a gentle simmer and add a little splash of vinegar. Use a spoon to create a whirlpool in the water. Crack one egg into the center of the whirlpool. Poach the eggs, one at a time, for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Remove each egg with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
PRO TIP: Why add vinegar to the poaching liquid? The acid helps keep the egg white proteins tightly connected and able to congeal quickly, leading to a neater poached egg.
Separately, in a skillet -- while the eggs are poaching if you'd like to multitask -- cook the bacon pieces over medium-low heat until the fat has rendered and the bacon is cooked and tinged golden. Now is not the time for well-done bacon; we want luxurious golden lardons, not crispy bacon bits.
Remove the bacon from the skillet and drain on a paper towel. Pour off some of the bacon fat as needed. You'll need about 4 tablespoons for the dressing.

For the Dressing and to Finish

Add the vinegar, minced shallot, Dijon mustard, and a few twists of black pepper to the skillet with the remaining bacon grease. Cook for about one minute, stirring to combine into a warm vinaigrette. Remove from the heat. Toss in the pieces of fingerling potato, if using, but do not over-mix or the potatoes could break apart.
The salad will come together quickly now. When the eggs have finished poaching, toss the warm vinaigrette with the bowl of frisée greens and most of the bacon (and potato) pieces. Divide among four plates. Add a poached egg to the top of each salad, and garnish the top with the remaining bacon lardons and potatoes, if using. Serve immediately with a twist of black pepper on top.

Notes

I wrote it in the directions, but it bears repeating: When making any salad, make sure your lettuce leaves are very dry. Soggy lettuce leaves means that the vinaigrette will not cling to the frisée (that old oil and water cliché is real) and the greens will be soggy overall.

This salad is best served warm, right away. I don't think you can really enjoy this well as leftovers. However, if you want to make some of the components ahead of time:

Cook the bacon lardons and store in an airtight container. Separately store the rendered bacon fat in a little jar. You will reheat both to make the salad.
Make the non-bacon components of the vinaigrette and store.
Boil the potatoes and store.
Clean the frisée and let it dry on a sheet pan lined with clean paper towels in the fridge.

Nutrition

Disclaimer: Nutrition information is provided for courtesy purposes only, and is an estimate not verified by medical or nutrition experts. Read the full nutrition disclaimer.