I loved this salad on so many levels.
Level One: I didn't think I would. Seriously? Eggs, asparagus and Dijon vinaigrette? Did I read that right?
But I LOVED this salad! Actually we both, (my husband and myself) LOVED this salad!!!
Level Two: In the "olden days" (pre-FFWD) I would have passed right by a recipe like this in fear of stepping out of my/our "taste bud comfort level". Oh ye of little faith I was!
Level Three: ASPARAGUS!!! I needn't tell you about my love of asparagus, do I?
I didn't have a lot (asparagus) to go around, and I wanted the most bang for my asparagus buck, so I halved them (something I've never done before) and I ROASTED them (something I always do). Yeah baby!
Level Four: Bacon! Need I say more?
Now, here comes the tricky part... I'm not a runny yolk type of gal. Never have been and never thought would be. So, for the egg portion of this recipe (found on page 130 of Around My French Table), I opted to fry my eggs, in olive oil!!!
Level five: I've NEVER cooked my eggs in olive oil before but always wanted to fry try it. At first, I was going to do a hard yolk center but at the last minute of basting (did I mention the olive oil? LOL) I turned off the heat and screwed up my courage to have a semi-soft yolk instead. You can call me brave heart!
Level six: I added toasted pine nuts. Buttery little nuggets of nutty goodness. Pine nuts are my friend!
Level Seven: Calling hubby up for dinner and seeing the surprised look on his face when he saw the completed dish and exclaimed "Egg Salad?" THAT'S what we're having for dinner tonight? Um...yeah. What did you expect...meat and potatoes? HA!
Eighth and Final Level: The combination of flavors here are exquisite! The buttery smooth texture and taste of the semi-soft egg yolk mixed with the tangy bite of the Dijon vinaigrette. The slight crunch of the pine nuts and crisp bacon combined with the delicate and tender leafy greens. Oh, and let's not forget the undeniably mild and delicious taste of the asparagus that tied all the flavors together neatly on one plate.
All that and then some.
The look of delighted surprise on both our faces as we experienced something that we weren't quite expecting was in itself, rewarding. I think I must have said to my husband at least three times last night "I feel like we're sitting in a little Paris bistro", and seriously, isn't that what food is supposed to be all about?
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words:
If you'd like to check out all the other wonderful home cooks interpretations of Dorie's Bacon, Egg and Asparagus Salad, you can do so here as it's always fun to see (and read) their experiences.
Heck, you may even want to join us as we travel the pages of "Around My French Table" together. It's a lot cheaper than a trip to Paris and "almost" as much fun :)
Until we eat again!
As requested, here is the original recipe (in photo form) as written by Dorie Greenspan from her cookbook "Around My French Table". As you can see from the final photo from the cookbook, I made my eggs quite a bit different than called for in the recipe.
Until we eat again,
Labels: bacon, Dijon, eggs, FFWD, Let's Eat, pine nuts, recipe group, salad, vinegrette
