Salade Lyonnaise

Ingredients

• 1 large head of frisee, pale heart only
• 200 g thick smoked lardons
• 4 very fresh eggs
• 3 thick slices of day-old country bread, cut into cubes
• 1 garlic clove, halved
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, plus 1 tbsp for poaching
• 4 tbsp groundnut or light olive oil
• 1 tbsp chopped chives
• Salt and black pepper

Before you cook

• Tear the frisee into bite-sized pieces, wash it and spin it completely dry
• Cut the bread into 2 centimetre cubes
• Chop the shallot finely and crack each egg into its own cup

Steps

1. Whisk the mustard with the 2 tablespoons of vinegar, the shallot, a pinch of salt and plenty of pepper in the bottom of a large salad bowl.
2. Whisk in the oil in a thin stream until the dressing thickens and turns pale.
3. Pile the dry frisee on top of the dressing without tossing it yet.
4. Fry the lardons in a dry pan over medium heat for six minutes, until browned and their fat has run.
5. Lift the lardons onto kitchen paper and leave the fat in the pan.
6. Fry the bread cubes in that fat for four minutes, tossing often, until crisp and golden.
7. Rub the hot croutons with the cut side of the garlic clove and set them aside.
8. Bring a wide pan of water to a bare shiver and add the remaining vinegar.
9. Slide in the eggs one at a time and poach them for three minutes, until the whites are set but the yolks still run.
10. Lift each egg out with a slotted spoon and rest it on kitchen paper.
11. Toss the frisee through the dressing at the bottom of the bowl until every leaf is coated.
12. Divide the salad between four plates and scatter over the hot lardons and croutons.
13. Set a poached egg on each plate, grind over black pepper, sprinkle with chives and serve at once.