Salade aux lardons

By Marie Pierre Moine

Cooking time

Takes 20-30 minutes

Easy

Serves 6

A chic, quick to make starter that looks great on the plate

6 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 x 120g prepared mixed baby green salad leaves (or make your own mix of curly endive, chicory and spinach)
6 large free-range eggs, at room temperature
130g pkt lardons or diced pancetta
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
pain de campagne (country bread), to serve

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Mix the olive oil and mustard in a salad bowl and season generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Tip the salad leaves into the bowl on top of salad servers to protect them from the dressing. Don’t toss at this stage.
Put the eggs in a pan of boiling water and boil for 7 minutes until softly set. Drain and refresh under cold water, leave until cool enough to handle, then tap the rounded ends and carefully peel off the shells.
Put a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and dry fry the lardons or pancetta for 3 minutes until crisp and golden, stirring frequently. Tip the lardons or pancetta over the leaves, swirl the vinegar into the pan, then drizzle over the salad.
Toss the salad and divide between six plates. Halve each egg lengthways and put two halves on each serving of salad. Serve immediately, with pain de campagne.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, October 2002