Salade Lyonnaise

There’s a reason salade lyonnaise has long been iconic not only in its namesake city of Lyon but also throughout France. The combination of bitter greens, salty bacon, rich poached egg, and punchy vinaigrette is simply perfect. The pungent greens stand up to the tart vinaigrette and are sturdy enough to hold up under the weight of the egg. Thick batons of bacon, or lardons, retain meaty chew even when they are browned and crisped. The vinaigrette, whisked together in the warm pan used to brown the bacon, has just enough acidity to balance the pork’s richness and the egg’s flowing yolk and tender whites. For my own rendition of this French classic, I wanted to ensure that I hit that same spot-on balance of crisp and chewy, cool and warm, and rich and bitter.

Gathering the Ingredients

The most traditional versions of salade lyonnaise feature just a single green—frisee, a member of the