POACHED EGG WITH CURLY ENDIVE SALAD

Poached Egg with Curly Endive Salad image

Categories Bread Salad Egg Breakfast Poach Dinner Lunch Endive Simmer

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 12

Ingredients

2 large heads of curly endive (frisée)
2 bacon slices
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt
Fresh-ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons bacon fat
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 eggs, cracked from their shells

Steps:

Remove the dark green outer leaves from: 2 large heads of curly endive (frisée). Separate into individual leaves and wash and dry well. Cut into 1/3-inch pieces: 2 bacon slices. Warm in a small heavy pan, over medium heat: 2 teaspoons olive oil.
Add the bacon pieces and cook until brown and rendered, but not crisp. Remove from the pan. Pour off the fat from the pan and reserve. To make the dressing, mix together: 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, Salt, Fresh-ground black pepper, 1 garlic clove, crushed. Whisk in: 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons bacon fat.
Taste for salt and acid and adjust as needed. Fill a heavy saucepan with 4 cups of water and add: 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar. Heat to just below a simmer and slide in: 4 eggs, cracked from their shells.
Poach for 3 1/2 to 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water and keep warm. Put the vinaigrette into a large bowl (remove the crushed garlic clove), add the bacon, and put the bowl over the pan of hot water to warm. Add the greens and toss well. Divide the greens among 4 warm plates. Gently blot the eggs dry, and put 1 egg on top of each salad. Grind a little black pepper over the top and serve immediately.
Variations
Other greens work well in this salad: try spinach, escarole, dandelion greens, or tender radicchio varieties such as Castelfranco or Sugar Loaf.
The warm salad can be served without poached eggs.
Omit the bacon, increasing the amount of olive oil in the dressing to make up for the loss of bacon fat.
Make some rustic croutons and toss them while still hot with fine-chopped garlic. Dress the croutons with a little vinaigrette and toss with the greens.
notes
A freshly laid organic egg simply poached is an incomparable delicacy.
Eggshell fragments can be easily retrieved, scooped up with half a broken eggshell.