Ingredients For A Fabulous Life
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Bright and fresh with the substance of a light meal, Salade Lyonnaise with Herbs de Provence Croutons is a salad with sophistication!
SALADE LYONNAISE WITH HERBS DE PROVENCE CROUTONS
If you want to channel the flavors of France, then this salad (or salade!) is the one to be eating. That’s exactly why I chose it to be on the menu of my “French-Themed” Mother’s Day Luncheon this year.
It’s smoky, mustard-based vinaigrette taming the bitterness of the frisee and the chewy lardons of pork make this salad truly tempting.
The mothers in my life don’t care for “jammy” eggs, so you’ll see I deferred to their tastes when making this dish. Otherwise, I would advise keeping the cooking time down to make your eggs dark yellow and still a bit creamy. It’s the French way!
WHAT’S A LARDON, AND WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
I’m a confirmed Francophile and love everything French. In fact, I’m currently working on turning our mountain “cabin” into a French Country masterpiece. We’ll see how that goes…
Kidding aside, when it comes to the French, they know how to make an incredible salad. DO NOT under any circumstances decide to make this recipe and use bacon strips from a one-pound package. Make some BLT’s for dinner instead.
So why is this little stick of pork so yummy? Strip bacon from the package can be too fatty and can crumble upon cooking. But, lardons are perfectly juicy, salty sticks of cured pork. Lardons are a key ingredient in this a Salade Lyonnaise along with the French classics, coq au vin and beef bourguinon.
I insist you pick up a piece of slab bacon from the grocer and slice the batons yourself. To cut them by hand, slice slab bacon into ¼” strips. Cook them slowly over medium heat until most of the fat has rendered out.
Stick around and keep an eye on them, because the difference between juicy lardons and bitter bacon bits is just a few moments away. I promise, you’ll be so happy that you did, the difference is amazingly delicious!
HERBS DE PROVENCE CROUTONS
To keep the French theme going I decided to try and make my Salade Lyonnaise a bit more special for Mother’s Day.
Croutons are basically rebaked chunks of bread that have been flavored with oil or butter and seasoned with herbs, dry cheeses, or spices.
A sturdy, hearty loaf of bread makes the best croutons. The airy crumb allows air to circulate and keeps the insides soft with a crunchy crisped crust that adds texture to any dish or salad.
But, don’t feel totally limited if you have other kinds of bread you’d like to try. Ciabatta, country french rolls, any good quality bakery bread will be perfect.
I decided I would sauté them in the rendered lardon fat, butter, Fleur de Sel sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and Herbs de Provence. I could just taste them crunching against the chewy lardons and bitter greens. YUM!
The directions are right on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Want to see what else in on the menu of my Mother’s Day Luncheon? Let’s check it out…
MOTHER’S DAY LUNCHEON CELEBRATION – A “French-Themed” Ladies Lunch
Celebrating Mother’s Day this year will be festive and delightfully delicious when hosting a “French-Themed” lunch to honor the mothers in your life.
Doesn’t the Salade Lyonnaise with Herbs de Provence Croutons look wonderful as part of this fabulous ladies luncheon menu?
Here’s what is on the menu of my fabulously French Mother’s Day Luncheon:
- Pink Grapefruit Wine Spritzers
- French Cheese Board with Bread Basket
- Cold Asparagus Soup with Roasted Shrimp
- Salade Lyonnaise with Herbs de Provence Croutons
- Choux Puffs Stuffed with Salmon Dill Mousse or Smoked Trout & Savory Cream Cheese
But what about dessert? You can’t have a bunch of gals together without serving dessert, right?
MOTHER’S DAY LUNCHEON – Desserts Are Mandatory!
Here’s the two desserts I chose to be the “sweet endings” to my fabulous Mother’s Day Luncheon. I’ll serve both with an assortment of teas to wind down what is sure to be a lovely afternoon.
The first is a light and moist Pink Grapefruit Chiffon Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. Yes, I know it’s PINK!
I finished the cake off with some delightful sugar flowers and leaves I purchased on Amazon last year. They last forever if kept in a dry, dark and cool location.
It turned out so lovely with three luscious layers, just aching for some White Chocolate Buttercream
Frosting. Depending on the size of cake pan you use, you’ll have 2 or 3 layers, so you will need 6 whole cups of frosting for this cake. (that’s exactly how much my recipe makes!)
Now, for the second Mother’s Day Luncheon dessert, I knew any gaggle of women would be looking around, waiting for the chocolate to appear! So as not to disappoint, I’ve also included a lovely Chocolate Grand Marnier Pots de Crème on the menu.
It’s densely chocolate, with a hint of citrus that gives it a new level of sophistication. In keeping with the party’s pink color-scheme, and the pink grapefruit cake, I garnished them with Candied Pink Grapefruit slices. They are amazingly addictive, so be careful to save enough for your presentation!
I finished the Chocolate Grand Marnier Pots de Crème with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream and fresh mint. Don’t they look lovely? And they taste even better!
CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPES:
- Pink Grapefruit Chiffon Cake
- White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Chocolate Grand Marnier Pots de Crème
MOTHER’S DAY PLANNER & PARTY PRINTABLES
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Salade Lyonnaise with Herbs de Provence Croutons
Bright and fresh with the substance of a light meal, Salade Lyonnaise makes a lovely Spring dish. Add some fabulous Herbs de Provence Croutons to take it to the next level of French sophistication!
Ingredients
- Large head of Frisee/Curly Endive
- 2 shallots, diced
- 6 oz. slab bacon, cut into lardons/thick matchsticks
- 6 hard cooked eggs, peeled (keep them jammy if possible)
- Half a French baguette, cut into squares
- 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp. Fleur de Sel sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tsp. Herbs de Provence
Instructions
- Wash and spin greens, then tear into bite sized chunks. Place in large bowl or on serving platter. Cover and place in refrigerator until ready to assemble salad. (it will depend if you're serving the salad family-style or individually plated)
- Place a medium skillet over medium heat and add bacon, spreading it out into a single layer. Let cook, turning occasionally, until just barely crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and let drain on layers of paper toweling.
- Add the shallot to the pan and cook over medium heat for a few minutes until softened. Remove shallot pieces, along with a generous 1 Tbsp. of the bacon fat and place in a small bowl. Leave the remaining fat in the pan.
- Add butter, salt, pepper and Herbs de Provence to the skillet. Stir to combine, then add bread cubes and toss to coat in the butter-herb mixture.
- Toast bread cubes in pan, tossing occasionally until crispy and lightly browned. Remove from pan and place on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, add the red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard to the warm bacon fat and whisk gently to emulsify.
- Cut eggs in half.
ASSEMBLY
PLATED SALAD -
1. Divide greens between 6 salad plates. Top each plate with bacon and one egg and some croutons. Drizzle with dressing or it serve along side.
PLATTERED SALAD -
2. Take platter from refrigerator and top with bacon, eggs and croutons. Drizzle with dressing or serve it along side.
Notes
If you can't find frisee, or it's too bitter for you, try red radicchio, escarole, arugula or a bistro salad mix.
You can either toss the greens with the dressing then divide between plates, or drizzle the dressing over the finished salad.
Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 309Total Fat 17gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 219mgCarbohydrates 18gFiber 2gSugar 3gProtein 19g
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