Ingredients
Salad:
- 4 heads frisee
- 12 ounces smoked bacon (homemade or other)
- 8 to 12 shallots
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup grenadine
- 16 ounces locally foraged mushrooms (such as chanterelles, boletes, chicken of the woods and lobster mushrooms)
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Cracked pepper
- Fresh thyme
- 1 ficelle (approximately 12 inches), or French bread of choice
- 1 pound baby spinach
Directions
Wash the frisee well, trim the root end but leave it attached, and cut the heads in half.
Remove the rind from the bacon. Cut bacon into thick lardons, slowly render the fat, drain and dry lardons on paper toweling.
Peel the shallots, slice them into 1/4-inch rings, toss them in the mixture of hot balsamic vinegar and grenadine and reserve.
Clean and trim the mushrooms. Toss them with olive oil, kosher salt, cracked pepper and fresh thyme then roast them and reserve.
Cut the ficelle into 16 thick little slices
Vinaigrette:
- 4 ounces sherry vinegar
- 4 ounces virgin olive oil
- 4 ounces soy or canola oil
- 1 to 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- Salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
To Assemble:
Warm plates in a low oven.
Have all components prepped in advance.
In a separate pan or lightly oiled baking dish lay the seasoned bread for croutons in a single layer. Sprinkle lightly with oil and toast quickly in a 425 degree oven. Place in the warming oven. In a large pan sear seasoned halves of frisee in a scant amount of soy or canola oil. Transfer them to the warm oven. In the same pan add the bacon, shallots, roasted mushrooms and half of the vinaigrette. Heat thoroughly.
Remove plates and frisee from the warming oven. Spoon hot mushroom mixture across frisee.
In that same pan again lightly wilt spinach with a splash more vinaigrette and plate it in a separate little >pile next to the mushroom braise.
Arrange croutons over the salad. Garnish with coarsely chopped herb confetti
