Salade Lyonnaise

Salade Lyonnaise is frisée lettuce tossed with warm bacon lardons and a sharp mustard vinaigrette, topped with a poached egg that breaks over the leaves at the table. It's Lyon's bistro salad, and unlike most cold composed salads, it's built to be eaten the moment it's served — the whole point is the still-runny yolk running down into the warm dressing and wilting the leaves slightly as it goes.

What it actually is

Frisée — a bitter, curly-leafed lettuce that holds up well against warm dressing without collapsing flat — tosses with bacon lardons fried until crisp, along with the rendered bacon fat itself worked into a sharp mustard vinaigrette that's still warm from the pan. A softly poached egg, yolk still liquid, sits on top, and breaking it open at the table is meant to send yolk running down through the leaves, thickening the dressing further as it mixes in.

The egg has to still be runny when it's served. A hard-poached or overcooked egg loses the entire point of the salad — the yolk is meant to function as an extra, warm part of the dressing, not sit on top as a garnish.

How it's served

• Immediately after plating, while the bacon fat and vinaigrette are still warm and the egg still runny.
• With the poached egg whole on top, broken open by the diner rather than pre-mixed in the kitchen.
• As a starter or light main, common on French bistro menus.

Writing it on a menu

• Flag egg and mustard; both are structural to the dish, not optional garnishes.
• Say that the egg is served soft-poached, since a guest with concerns about a runny yolk should know in advance.
• Note that it's meant to be eaten right away, since the warm dressing and frisée wilt further the longer it sits.
• Mention if a fully-cooked egg option is available for guests who prefer it, even though it changes the dish's traditional texture.