Salade aux lardons

Name: Salade aux lardons
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 2 cups baby spinach leaves, trimmed of excess stem; 2 cups crunchy salad leaves, (the heart of curly endive is the best, next comes sliced witlof, then maybe the inner leaves of cos); 2 x 5mm thick sliced belly bacon; 2 slices sourdough or other substantial bread; 1 clove garlic; 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 3 tsp red wine vinegar; 4 large free-range eggs; freshly ground pepper

Stephanie Alexander

October 19, 2011

Time:1-2 hours

Lardons is the French term for small sticks of belly pork, usually cut at least 5mm thick, and usually smoked. The best substitute for poitrine fume in Australia is smoked bacon from a quality supplier. I get mine from my local farmers' market. Smoked belly bacon or kaiserfleisch is available at many delicatessens. Ask for it to be cut 5mm thick. I would not bother with this delicious salad if all that was available was the bacon sold in supermarkets, which in my experience is wet, flabby, thinly cut and almost fatless.

Ingredients

2 cups baby spinach leaves, trimmed of excess stem
2 cups crunchy salad leaves, (the heart of curly endive is the best, next comes sliced witlof, then maybe the inner leaves of cos)
2 x 5mm thick sliced belly bacon
2 slices sourdough or other substantial bread
1 clove garlic
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tsp red wine vinegar
4 large free-range eggs
freshly ground pepper

Method

Heat an oven to 100C.
Wash and trim the salad greens. Spin dry gently. Line a clean tea towel with a long piece of kitchen paper and tip the prepared greens onto the paper. Wrap into a loose parcel and refrigerate to crisp, until needed.
Warm 4 serving plates in the oven.Cut the bacon into little sticks. Rub the bread lightly with the cut garlic clove. Tear the bread into rough 1cm croutons. Film a nonstick pan with water and drop in the bacon. Saute over moderate heat so that the fat starts to run and each little bacon stick starts to colour and crisp a little. Scoop bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to the warm oven.
Add half the olive oil to the same pan and saute the bread until golden on all sides. Remove to the warm oven. Push the pan to one side but do not wash it.
Bring a pot of lightly salted water to the boil and poach the eggs until just set. If the pan is not wide enough to poach all at the same time, you will have to poach them in batches, scoop them out and let them sit in a bowl of warm water.
Now divide the greens between the four warm plates. Scatter over the croutons and bacon. Place a poached egg on top of each salad.
Quickly reheat the frying-pan, add the remainder of the olive oil and the vinegar, stir with a spoon and divide this dressing between the salads.
Grind over some pepper and serve at once.

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