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.
I’m on the train and that’s exactly what I wish they would serve me!
See you.
Merci, A. Je t’embrasse !
This looks delightfully springy and filled with fresh and bright ingredients 😀
Thanks for sharing!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thank you, Choc Chip Uru.
Isn’t arugula the best? It brings remarkable zip to everything it surrounds; just love the taste. Your salad is simply luminous Sissi – it lights up the whole page. It’s so interesting too about the egg – I’m accustomed to seeing hard boiled in salads but your open face soft egg seems more authentic and tasty. I encounter a similar salad when I visit my mom in Quebec called “la printanière” – wonderful. Lovely mix of colourful spring ingredients Sissi.
Thank you so much, Kelly. I have forgotten to put the geographical “translation” 😉 I hope everyone understands…
It grows very easily on my balcony and I’m glad I can add several leaves to a sweeter and milder salad. As I said, the egg yolk combined with the vinaigrette tastes heavenly. I also like the warm egg contrast here.
It is equally well known here as rocket, I just had arugula on the brain for some reason :). Have a beautiful day Sissi!
Thank you, Kelly. I still struggle with different English food names in different countries…
I wish to have a bowl of your salad , sound so good.
Thank you, Sonia.
What a beautiful salad! I love your choice of ingredients.
Thank you so much, Tessa. I was really glad because accidentally it ended up particularly seasonal!
Hi Sissi! I remember you talked about another hearty salad before, the photo really looks great, all the combinations of colors, I bet the flavor is as vibrant as the look of it!
I love breaking a sunny side up egg, let the york run and mix with whatever sauce is on the rest of the food, last Sunday we had Huevos Ranchero at a hole in the wall restaurant close to our neighborhood, the york and Mexican sauce mixture was so good on top of the flour tortillas, my mouth is still watering!
Thank you so much, Jeno. Your Huevos Rancheros sound fabulous! OOzing yolk is delicious on every dish (I also love it on a bowl of simply steamed white rice…).
Me too I remember you talk about it. Wow it was last Sept? Time flies… I love your easy salad recipe and the egg on top is very tempting. I have 2 dozens of eggs right now (bought one more box mistake!!) so I definitely make this with your dressing!
Thank you so much, Nami. Do try making one day a regular salad with a fried egg on top. It’s extraordinary! (I’m sure as a Japanese, you appreciate the runny yolk…). Time flies, I agree. I was really surprised when I checked the previous post’s date.
Beautiful salad Sissi…and I love the fried egg on top, especially with the soft egg yolk…perfect salad for Spring indeed.
Thanks for this tasty salad and hope you are having a wonderful week 🙂
Thank you so much, Juliana. Have a wonderful week too.
Hi Sissi, you taught me a new word today – I’d never heard “printanière” before. I wonder why the notoriously wordy, language-loving French always seem to write “de printemps”, when they can use this word instead?
Your salad looks wonderful – so colourful and crisp… I love the look of the little radish slices poking out there! I’ve actually been big into salads at the moment, but I find they’re not substantial enough for a main meal so we’ve been baking potatoes, putting the salad on top, adding a few beans and coarsely cut onion… it’s the most wonderful meal!
Thank you, Charles. I’m really happy you like it. It is particularly light and filling at the same time. Your potato meals sound delicious!
Talking about the French language… The reason why you probably rarely hear the word “printanier” is because it has a slightly different sense compared to “de printemps” and since everyone knows the word “printemps” many people tend to forget about “printanier”. It’s a bit difficult to explain, but for me for example “menu du printemps” (in a restaurant) would be simply the menu served in the spring, while “menu printanier” would also have a spring character. The difference is very small though and in many occasions both words can be used. “Printanier” also sounds rather optimistic compared to “de printemps” which is objective and neutral (“menu printanier” would sound merrier). I suppose some of your French friends might have a slightly different explanation.
Ah, no – when you put it like that, I can totally understand the different usages. I’m trying to think of a good example in English but my words fail me alas.
Nice salad, and part of it is from your balcony garden, tasty. Love the sunny side up egg idea.
My lettuce will be ready to harvest in a few days, well I could take some of the outer leaves but I think I should wait, oops, forgot to sow my radish seeds, must do soon.
Thank you so much, Norma. The plants from my balcony always taste better 🙂
That is indeed a beautiful looking salad. It is lunchtime here in Sydney and despite winter being only a couple of weeks away we are experiencing a few days of very hot weather and even the nights have been mild. So strange – the weather wasn’t even this good in the summer! And so this salad would be perfect for my lunch today xx
Thank you so much, Charlie. You are so lucky with the warm climate in Australia…
I love runny yolk! Now why haven’t I thought of having a fried egg with my salad before? Duh. So simple and yet I’ve never done that. I can imagine it when you talk about the yolk running on to the salad leaves … Ooooohhhh, heaven!
Thank you so much, Ping. A fried egg with runny yolk on a bowl of salad is as good as on a bowl of rice.
Super like and approve of this salad, it’s completely seasonal and also very glad that you used eggs and ham from happy animals as it’s something I really believe in!
Thank you so much, Shuhan. I have been eating only organic eggs for many years (sometimes free range) and buy only free-range meat (I have found a perfect butcher with only free-range meat). Apart from the ethical and healthy side of eating free-range, the taste is so much better. Even the cooked ham my butcher makes from the free-range pigs tastes better than the one I used to buy from different butchers… Unfortunately this is not always the case of organic meat. I once heard a French chef say that French organic meat producers concentrate so much on sticking to the organic rules and keeping the label, they often forget about the taste…
I adore this salad, Sissi. We have a small café called The School that serves a similar version but they add smoked salmon and roasted potatoes with endive to theirs (not quite fitting into my strict diet, but a treat once in a while non-te-less). The yolk CANNOT be skipped, I totally agree. This is a perfect reason to be good for some meals, so one can splurge for others. I made The School version for luncheons we have with friends. I love their look of surprise when they first see the salad, and then when they break into the yolk (I usually poach my eggs). The way the yolk breaks and mixes with the dressing (as you mentioned) is one of the simple pleasures in life. This is really one of my favourite recipes.
Thank you, Eva. Roasted potatoes must be delicious. I’m happy you like the runny yolk too. I also love it in a bowl of simply steamed white rice with soy sauce.
This looks fantastic. I love recipes that use up leftovers from the fridge. Well done!
Thank you, Beth.
As much as I like a meal topped with an egg, I have yet to try a salad with an egg on top! What’s wrong with me? 🙂 Love the use of the ham and radishes and anything seasonal. I have a couple of “base” salads like that, but nothing with an egg on top. I’m getting 2 dozen fresh eggs from my friend in the valley tomorrow, so I know what I’ll be making this weekend! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you so much, MJ. I hope you will try a fried egg instead at least once. I definitely prefer it with green salads from the hard boiled one. I hope you will enjoy it.
Hi Sissi, I’m so with you on the salads! It’s my number 1 meal for both lunch and dinner most of the time and salads are so versatile! Looking at yours now, I think I’m definitely adding some radish to mine tonight!
Thank you so much, Gourmantine. Radishes add a nice crunch.
A mixed salad like this is my staple lunch, although I’ve never had it with fried egg. Sounds super healthy and quick to make with, as you said, anything that’s in the fridge.
Thank you, Martyna.
Sissi I have never experienced the runny yolk in a salad so I must try this. I have been eating a lot of salads so it would be really nice to try something so different. Isn’t it amazing that you can be an avid cook and still continue to learn so much from others? I just love that. Hope things are well with you.
Thank you, Barb. You must experience the runny yolk in a salad of course! I also am amazed at how much I learn every day from other bloggers.
Sissi, your salad is a lovely meal…tasty, healthy and light.
Thank you, Karen.