Arugula Endive Salad with Bacon
Bitter greens never tasted so good! This Arugula Endive Salad with Bacon combines the sharp flavor of bitter greens with crispy bacon, all drizzled with a delicious mustardy dressing. Yes, it's a nod to the bistro classic, salade Lyonnaise, minus the poached egg.
While the combination of bitter, fat, and acid is essential for a good vinaigrette, I think it's also a good combo for a delicious salad.
Bitter, Fat, and Acid
Here, the bitter comes from the arugula (sometimes called rocket) with its peppery leaves and the endive (sometimes called frisée) with its moderately bitter taste and crunchy texture. Both of these are considered winter greens, although I am able to find them pretty much year-round at my local grocery stores. These greens form the base for this salad and bring bright pungency.
Don't be afraid of fat! There are a couple of sources in this salad, including deliciously crispy bacon. More often than not, I cook bacon strips on a sheet pan in the oven because it's easier than standing over a hot skillet. But in this recipe, we are pan-frying the diced bacon for two reasons. One, to carefully watch it and prevent the pieces from burning, and two, to capture a spoonful of bacon grease that we will use in the dressing.
The second source of fat is olive oil in the vinaigrette. Many dressings use a 3:1 fat-to-acid ratio, but given that another fat is involved (hello, bacon), I reduced the oil so that the dressing has a 1:1 ratio of olive oil and acid. A spoon of bacon grease tips the fat slightly over and makes things extra yummy.
Finally, white wine vinegar brings the acid component. This vinegar is milder and slightly sweeter than regular white distilled vinegar, and it works nicely with the tangy Dijon mustard.
Lessons Learned
- Does the thought of bacon grease in the vinaigrette put you off? You can leave it out and the dressing will still be delicious.
- If you do include the bacon grease, just know that once you refrigerate your dressing, it will coagulate and get lumpy. But this is easily remedied! Just leave the vinaigrette out of the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes before serving to bring it to room temperature.
- Substitute escarole, dandelion greens, or other bitter greens in place of the arugula and curly endive if you'd like.
Hat Tips
Many thanks to Serious Eats for the Salade Lyonnaise recipe that I adapted.
Arugula Endive Salad with Bacon
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Bitter greens (arugula and endive) are topped with crispy bacon and a mustardy vinaigrette, making a perfect side salad.
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 slices bacon, diced
- 3 cups arugula
- 3 cups curly endive
- ⅓ cup white wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 Tablespoons minced shallot
- 1 Tablespoon bacon grease (collect from pan after cooking bacon)
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the diced bacon and sauté, stirring frequently, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon to paper toweling to drain. Collect 1 Tablespoon of the bacon fat and pour into a small jar with a screw top lid and set aside.
- Arrange the arugula and endive evenly on four individual plates. Top with the bacon bits.
- Add the vinegar, oil, mustard, and shallot to the jar with the bacon grease. Screw on the lid and shake to emulsify the vinaigrette. Immediately spoon over the salad and serve.
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