Frisée And Poached Egg Salad

I adore frisée. I love the taste, but truthfully, it’s the name that gets me. This is my frisée and poached egg salad, lightly dressed with a homemade mustard vinaigrette and it’s a staple in my home. This classic French country salad is one I could live on, especially in the summer.

What most people don’t know about frisée is that it’s not a lettuce, even though it’s often called “frisée lettuce.” Frisée is a leafy green related to endive and chicory and can often be found under the name curly endive. Frisée has been used in European countries for some time but it wasn’t until the 1990’s that frisée gained popularity in America.

Frisée has rich green leaves on the outside and pale yellow-green leaves toward the center of the plant. The leaves are crisp and look like fern fronds. Crunchy tangy, mildly bitter with a subtle peppery taste. What’s not to love in this bistro classic?

Hailing from Lyon, crisp lardons added to this crowd-pleaser make the well-known and loved “salade Lyonnaise”.  When made traditionally, the salad gets an extra hit of pork flavor from emulsifying the vinaigrette with bacon fat; breaking the yolks into the greens further adds to the salad’s richness.

While I am a lover of the classic method, I omitted the lardons in my version of this classic to not only simplify the dish but also make it vegetarian. That said, you can easily add it in if you prefer.

Health-wise, because frisée is a leafy green vegetable, it contains very few calories and is packed with beneficial nutrients. A single serving of frisée meets one-third of the daily recommended amounts of folic acid, vitamin A, and vitamin C, and it also contains small amounts of vitamin K and manganese.

The takeaway is if you’re a salad lover like I am, but at times crave something simple and uncomplicated, look no further, this recipe is a must. Mastering the perfect poached egg takes some practice, but it’s a worthy skill to pick up.