French recipe

Salade Lyonnaise

Name: Salade Lyonnaise
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: French cuisine
Ingredients: 250 g crisp mixed lettuce leaves; 150 g smoked bacon, cut into short strips; 120 g country bread, cut into 2 cm cubes; 30 ml olive oil, divided 10 ml for croutons and 20 ml for dressing; 30 g shallot, finely chopped; 20 ml red wine vinegar, for dressing; 10 g Dijon mustard; 4 large commercially pasteurized in-shell eggs, for soft yolks; 1.5 L water for poaching; 15 ml white wine vinegar, for poaching water; 1 g salt, only as needed; 0.5 g black pepper; 5 g parsley, chopped

Crisp mixed lettuce with bacon, croutons and softly poached pasteurized eggs, dressed with a warm shallot-mustard vinaigrette.

France

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 40 min
Servings: 4

Mixed lettuce with bacon, croutons, a poached egg and parsley — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by Arnaud 25Source page · Original file · CC BY-SA 3.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

250 g
crisp mixed lettuce leaves
150 g
smoked bacon, cut into short strips
120 g
country bread, cut into 2 cm cubes
30 ml
olive oil, divided 10 ml for croutons and 20 ml for dressing
30 g
shallot, finely chopped
20 ml
red wine vinegar, for dressing
10 g
Dijon mustard
4
large commercially pasteurized in-shell eggs, for soft yolks
1.5 L
water for poaching
15 ml
white wine vinegar, for poaching water
1 g
salt, only as needed
0.5 g
black pepper
5 g
parsley, chopped

Method

01
Dry the leaves
Wash and thoroughly dry the lettuce. Cut bread and bacon as listed and finely chop the shallot. Keep the leaves cool while preparing the warm toppings.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Toast the croutons
Heat the oven to 180°C. Toss bread cubes with 10 ml olive oil, spread on a tray and bake 10–12 minutes, turning once, until crisp and golden. Leave uncovered.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Render the bacon
While the bread toasts, cook bacon over medium heat for 6–8 minutes until golden and crisp at the edges. Lift it into a warm bowl and retain 15 ml rendered fat in the pan.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Make the warm vinaigrette
Soften shallot in the reserved bacon fat for 1–2 minutes over low heat. Remove from heat and whisk in red wine vinegar, mustard, remaining 20 ml olive oil and pepper. Taste before salting.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Poach the pasteurized eggs
Heat poaching water and white wine vinegar to 85–90°C. Crack each pasteurized egg into a cup and slide in gently. Poach in two batches for 3–4 minutes until whites set and yolks remain soft; lift and drain.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Dress just before serving
Toss lettuce lightly with warm, not hot, vinaigrette and divide among four plates. Add bacon and croutons, then one poached egg per plate. Finish with parsley and serve immediately.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Dry leaves and crisp croutons keep the warm dressing from making the salad soggy.
Crack eggs into separate cups first so each enters the water intact.

Common mistakes

Boiling water can tear the egg whites; maintain the gentle poaching temperature.
Soft yolks in this method require commercially pasteurized eggs; follow the firm-yolk alternative for ordinary eggs.

Substitutions

Use 250 g frisée or curly endive in place of the mixed lettuce.
With ordinary unpasteurized eggs, poach 8–10 minutes or longer until both yolk and white are firm.

Storage

Keep prepared leaves and cooked bacon separately at 0–4°C for up to 1 day. Reheat bacon to 74°C, poach eggs fresh and dress only at serving.

Cultural context

The Lyon-style combination of bacon, croutons and a poached egg turns crisp salad leaves into a substantial starter.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Salade lyonnaise — Photograph by Arnaud 25; CC BY-SA 3.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to French recipes

Salade Lyonnaise

Ingredients

Method

Dry the leaves

Toast the croutons

Render the bacon

Make the warm vinaigrette

Poach the pasteurized eggs

Dress just before serving

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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