Friday, June 17, 2011

Frisee Salad

We are enjoying green salads right now before it gets too hot and the lettuces turn bitter.  One of my favorite salads is made with Frisee; sometimes you see it labeled as Chicory.  B Street Growers in San Diego sometimes has this for sale as a hydroponic lettuce, with roots attached, and sometimes I grow in in my own garden, though I pick the heads when they are still quite small.

IMG_7740[4]

The salad is easy to make and is almost a meal in itself; I make this without measuring anything, so you can adjust the ingredients below to taste.  For a small salad for two people you will need:

1 small head of Frisee
2 slices of bacon
1 very small piece of Roquefort Cheese
2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

Wash, dry, and cut the lettuce into bite-sized pieces and place in a salad bowl.  Slice the Roquefort into small chunks and add on top of the salad; try to separate the chunks a little so you don’t have one big “glob” of cheese~

IMG_7738[1]

Slice the bacon into small pieces and fry until browned; in France you can use lardons, but here bacon works just fine; remove the bacon from the pan and sprinkle over the Roquefort, setting the fry pan with bacon grease aside~

IMG_7741[1]

At this point your salad is ready except for the dressing.  We will make our own warm vinaigrette of sorts: use the vinegar to deglaze the frying pan you just used for the bacon, including the bacon grease; cook for a minute to reduce the vinegar and pour immediately over the salad and toss; top with a little freshly ground pepper; serve warm.

IMG_7743[1]

Any salad looks better served on its own pretty plate; and with a nice serving set.  Pour le plaisir des yeux, here is what the French call couverts a salade or service de salade.   These are sterling silver with vermeil (gold over sterling)~

IMG_7986[4]

I marvel at each piece of old French sterling I see; works of art from the front~

IMG_7984[2]

But especially from the back~

IMG_7991[3]

IMG_7992[1]

Bon appetit et bon weekend a tous~

6 comments:

  1. Such a beautiful salad Andrea and looks delish!

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

    Come and join my Giveaway from the Novica Artisans!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It looks yummy! It is my favorite of the lettuces...... I like with soft shell crab and a lemon vinagrette on top. I will try yours!!!!.....Maryanne ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can't wait to make this salad. It is easy, fresh, rich and sexy! Yes, salads can be sexy. Yummy on many levels!
    It must be the weekend!
    Yvonne

    ReplyDelete
  4. the silverware is scrummmmmchious!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'll be right over, truly a gorgeous looking salad. I'll bring the wine. I love Roquefort and with bacon...oh my! Your utensils are lovely Andrea. Thank you for the email, I plan on getting caught up this weekend. As always, a real joy to hear from you.

    All my best for a tasty weekend. xo Deb

    ReplyDelete
  6. Such a simple salad to make and looks tasty. Have you ever thought of writing a book? You certainly have a lot to say about food, presentation and the French point of view in this regard.

    Sheila in S.F.

    ReplyDelete