Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
French classic turns kitschy
This recipe combines the fun of the endearingly kitschy and the elegance of an easy French classic: eggs in a hole and a lardonfrisee salad.
In the first, an egg fills the cutout center of sliced bread and is cooked in a skillet; in the latter, curly chicory greens are coated with a tangy vinaigrette, studded with chunks of bacon and topped with a poached egg.
Bacon appears in this rendition, too, but instead of fatty lardons, small cubes of lean Canadian bacon are browned in the skillet to start the dish. Then, the cutout slices of bread, which have been brushed with oil so that they toast up beautifully, go in the pan two at a time, and an egg is cracked into the center of each. They are cooked until the whites are set but the yolk is still runny and the bread is golden brown.
The frisee (or whatever chicory you like) is tossed with a mustardy vinaigrette, and the warm egg in its crisped bread platform is placed on top with the smoky bacon bits. It’s a healthy brunch or breakfast-for-dinner dish that is both homey and sophisticated, and it brings way more deliciousness to the table than its simple ingredients let on.