Spring Salad with a Fried Egg, or Salade Composée Printanière

I meant to post a completely different recipe today, but when I prepared this salad for yesterday’s lunch, I liked so much its spring look, colours and character, I decided to write about it instead. “Salade composée”, or mixed salad, is a dish I discovered in cheap small French restaurants, where it’s usually served for lunch. It is served in big bowls filled with green salad leaves, other raw vegetables and some proteins (usually a fried egg and for example a slice of ham). As soon as the weather starts warming, this kind of salad is one of my favourite quick lunch ideas. Last September I wrote about the salad I prepare most often (with tomatoes and smoked pork loin, click here to see the recipe), but the ingredients change quite depending on the season and on what I have in the fridge. Only the “bed” of green leaves and the fried egg are the obligatory items. (When you break the yolk and taste a salad leaf coated in the stupendous mixture of vinaigrette and egg yolk, you will understand why I never skip the egg).

Even though I made it with what I found in the fridge, this salad was mainly composed of seasonal produce: cucumber, radishes, avocado, a fabulous, spring, crisp, reddish lettuce called “rougette” and, last but not least, several rocket leaves straight from my balcony. Moreover, the egg, as well as the cooked ham come from happy, free-range animals (well, the pig was happy only until a certain point…). In short, it might look like an ordinary salad, but for me it represents the perfect high-quality, healthy spring meal. Served with several slices of good baguette, it’s a light, but complete and definitely nourishing dish. If only I could control my food cravings and have such a wise dish daily…

Preparation: 15 minutes

Ingredients (serves one):

green salad leaves (5 big or ten smaller)

5 cm (2 inch) cucumber piece

7 big radishes

1/2 avocado

1 slice of cooked ham

1 egg (or two if you feel very hungry!)

Vinaigrette with mustard:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 heaped teaspoon mustard

3 tablespoons vinegar of your choice

salt and pepper

Take a big bowl (for example with 20 cm (8 inch) diameter).

Tear the bigger salad leaves, cut the cucumber into matchstick or other small pieces, slice the radishes.

Cut the avocado into pieces.

Cut the ham or tear it (this is what I prefer to do if the slices are thin).

Arrange the salad, the cucumber, the avocado and the ham in the bowl.

Prepare the salad dressing and pour it over the salad.

Heat a pan and fry an egg.

Put the egg on the top of the salad, sprinkle some salt and pepper over it and serve.

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