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Meat, Northern, Eastern and Western France

Ardennes salad with bacon and potatoes

Ardennes salad with bacon and potatoes is a warm and cold composed salad for 4 people, ready in 35 minutes, very easy to make, for about €2.00 per person. Its success relies on temperature, hot bacon and vinegar poured straight over the frisée to warm it without cooking it. Soft potatoes, hard boiled eggs, and chives round out this one dish meal.

A generously filled Ardennes salad, crisp frisée, hot bacon deglazed with vinegar, and warm potatoes.

Ardennes salad with bacon and potatoes
Total time
35 min
Difficulty
Very easy
Cost per person
€2.00
Calories per person
580 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Spring, Summer, Fall
The kids
They generally like it

Ardennes salad plays on contrast, the frisée stays crisp and slightly bitter, the potatoes bring softness, and the hot bacon with deglazed vinegar warms everything without fully cooking it. It's a hearty composed salad with real substance, topped with hard boiled eggs and a dressing that almost makes itself right in the bacon pan.

It's a great weeknight dinner when you want something that feels light but is genuinely filling, or a spring lunch outside. Kids usually love the bacon and potatoes, you can serve the eggs on the side if they're picky about textures. Mon Chou suggests it when you have frisée to use up and little time to spare.

The ingredients

4 people

Fruits and vegetables

  • Frisée lettuce 1
  • Potatoes 800 g
  • Shallots 2
  • Chives 5 sprigs

Butcher

  • Smoked bacon lardons 300 g

Dairy

  • Eggs 4

Pantry

  • Red wine vinegaroften in the pantry 4 tbsp
  • Mustardoften in the pantry 1 tsp
  • Sunflower oiloften in the pantry 3 tbsp
  • Pepperoften in the pantry 1 pinch

Allergens Eggs, Mustard

The step by step recipe

  1. Boil the potatoes in their skins in salted water, then peel and slice them. 20 min

    Keep them warm so they soak up the dressing.

  2. Hard boil the eggs for ten minutes and peel them. 10 min

    Start them in already boiling water for a perfect result.

  3. Wash and dry the frisée in a large salad bowl, add the potatoes and the chopped shallots.

    Dry the leaves well, the dressing clings better.

  4. Brown the bacon in a skillet, deglaze with the vinegar, then stir in the mustard. 8 min

    Scrape up the browned bits well, they add flavor.

  5. Pour everything hot over the salad, toss, then add the eggs cut into wedges and the chives.

    Serve right away, the frisée wilts fast.

Our tips to get it right

  • Slice the potatoes a bit thick, they hold together better when warm and soak up the hot dressing without turning mushy.
  • Don't let the bacon cool before deglazing, the vinegar should sizzle on contact with the pan to properly lift the browned bits.
  • Toss the salad at the very last moment, frisée wilts quickly once the hot liquid hits it and loses its crunch if it sits.

The variations

  • Swap the smoked bacon for turkey bacon or regular bacon, the smoky flavor will be a bit milder.
  • For a vegetarian version, replace the bacon with pan fried mushrooms deglazed the same way with vinegar.
  • For kids, serve the components separately on the plate instead of tossed together, they tend to eat it more easily that way.

What to serve it with

  • Grilled country bread
  • A glass of dry cider
  • Fresh goat cheese

Storage

This salad is best eaten right away, the frisée loses its crunch within a few hours. If needed, keep the cooked potatoes and bacon separate from the raw salad, refrigerated in a sealed container for 2 days, and assemble just before serving.

Questions about this dish

Can you prepare Ardennes salad ahead of time?

You can boil the potatoes and hard boil the eggs the day before and keep them chilled. Wash the frisée and cook the bacon at the last minute though, to keep the crunch and warmth of the dish.

Can you substitute the smoked bacon in this recipe?

Yes, plain bacon, turkey bacon, or pancetta all work well. The flavor will be a little less smoky but the texture stays the same.

How do you keep the frisée from wilting too fast?

Dry the lettuce thoroughly before adding the hot bacon and serve immediately after tossing. The longer it sits, the more the leaves soften from the hot liquid.

What texture should the potatoes have for this salad?

They should be cooked but still firm, so they hold their shape in slices without falling apart in the salad. Boiling them in their skins keeps them from getting waterlogged.

How long does it take to make an Ardennes salad with bacon and potatoes?

Count 35 min in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “very easy”.

How many calories are in an Ardennes salad with bacon and potatoes?

About 580 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does an Ardennes salad with bacon and potatoes cost?

About €2.00 per serving, or €8.00 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains eggs, mustard. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

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