Simply called Frisée, this classic French bistro dish is far more than just a salad. At its heart, it’s a beautiful combination of gently sautéed smoked bacon and curly frisée greens, tossed together while everything is still warm so the flavors melt into one another. It’s rustic, elegant, and unmistakably French, the kind of dish you’d expect to find on a chalkboard menu in a cozy Paris café.
If you’ve never had it, now is absolutely the time. The contrast of crisp greens, salty bacon, and that warm, savory dressing is unforgettable. It’s simple to prepare, deeply satisfying, and a perfect reminder that some of the best dishes come from the humblest ingredients.
Tip : This salad is best prepared using frisée and smoked side bacon cut into lardons and fried in a bit of olive oil. I would say it's almost not worth making it, if you cannot find both of these ingredients,
Ingredients
- 1 head frisée
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 lb smoked bacon cut into lardons
- 2 large shallot finely chopped
- 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 stick French bread sliced
- 1 clove garlic
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients before starting recipe.
Bacon
- Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to frying pan and heat over medium high heat.
- Remove rind from bacon and slice thick slab bacon into 1/2" slices or lardons; this should be from about a 2" inch piece of slab, not sliced, smoked bacon; add lardons to frying pan
Frisée
- Cut 2" lengths from a medium head of frisée and put into a deep mixing bowl.
Toast Rounds
- Pre-heat broiler
- Slice a French baguette into 1/2" slices and place the slices onto a sheet of aluminum foil.
- While bacon is frying, toast both sides of the baguette slices and then rub one side each slice with a clove of peeled garlic.
Assembly
- When the bacon is done to your liking, drain all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat and pour the contents of the frying pan onto the frisée.
- Add sugar, black pepper, white wine vinegar and toss, checking seasoning.
Plating
- The salad should be served in a rim soup bowl, surrounded by the garlic toast slices
