Typical of the Vosges and Lorraine regions
You'll come across Vosges salad in many restaurants in the Vosges and Lorraine regions. It's often served in summer, but you may come across it in winter and discover a variation with dandelions in springtime, or a "chaude meurotte", i.e. a warm vinaigrette.
The Vosges mountains and their famous Vosges cows, very rare and well cared for. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: imagebrokermicrostock via depositphotos.
How to make a salade vosgienne?
Ingredients:
For 2 persons.
- 1 salad (curly leaf or lettuce, or oak leaf).
- 1 tablespoon full-fat crème fraîche (not low-fat cream!)
- 2 potatoes
- 2 eggs
- 150 grams smoked bacon
- 50 grams croutons (can be stale bread rubbed with garlic)
- Dressing (or 1 drizzle of oil, 1 drizzle of vinegar to mix).
- a little butter, a little oil to brown the bacon, croutons and potatoes.
- 1 pinch salt (fleur de sel is also good)
- 1 pinch pepper
Optional
Some add grated or diced Gruyère. Frankly, apart from adding fat, I don't see the point. On the other hand, a few slices of raw onion can add a little flavor and crunch.
Salad with bacon. The cream is missing, but you can add it at the end. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: bit245 via depositphotos.
The process
1
Clean and prepare the salad. Arrange it on your dish as if to make a nest. Make your vinaigrette (for vinaigrette ideas, click here).
2
Peel your potatoes. Boil them in a pan of cold water for 5 minutes from the time the water comes to the boil. Remove them from the water and cut them into slices (not too thin).
In the same water, prepare your eggs for hard-boiled (9 minutes when the water comes back to the boil) or soft-boiled (7 minutes when the water comes back to the boil).
3
Brown your lardons in a frying pan with a little butter (not too much). No need to add salt, it's already there. Then, in the same pan, brown your potato slices , adding a little oil. Finally, brown your croutons in the bacon and potato juices.
4
On the salad spread in the dish, arrange the potatoes, then the lardons and croutons, then drizzle with vinaigrette, season with salt and pepper, then top with crème fraîche. Serve warm or hot.
Focus on croutons
You can make delicious croutons from stale bread. Alternatively, take half a baguette, cut two slices and put them in the toaster. Then cut up the croutons. To make the croutons even better, rub them with garlic and fry them in olive oil with a little parsley. Delicious!
