Spinach Salad with Bacon and Poached Egg

This particular salade d'épinards is a variation on both a traditional salade de gésier (gizzard salad) and a salade frisée (curly endive salad). In this recipe, spinach accompanies the curly endive and the sautéed chicken livers stand in for the gizzards. Additionally, the presence of poached eggs and lardons are aspects of the original recipes.
Spinach Salad

Serving: 4

Principal ingredients

200 g chicken livers, degorged
300 g spinach, washed, destemmed
150 g curly chicory (curly endive)

Poached eggs

4 eggs
100 ml white vinegar
coarse salt

Vinaigrette

salt
30 ml red wine vinegar
pepper
30 g Dijon mustard
100 ml vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 stems parsley, finely chopped
2 stems chives, finely chopped

Garnish

100 g salt slab bacon, cut into lardons
30 ml oil
250 g butter, clarified
8 slices sandwich bread, crust removed, cut into small dice
salt and pepper

Method

Clean and trim the livers: Remove and discard any green bile spots. Place in cold milk to degorge.
Tear the spinach and curly endive into bite-size pieces and reserve in the refrigerator, covered by a wet kitchen towel.
Poached eggs: Fill a large, wide saucepan three-quarters full of water and generously season with white vinegar and coarse salt. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Break the eggs one at a time into a ramekin then slip the eggs into the simmering water. Note: The rising bubbles will prevent the eggs from sticking to the bottom of the pan and will also help the whites envelop the yolks. When the whites begin to coagulate, use a skimmer to help them wrap firmly around the yolks. Poach the eggs for about 3 minutes or until the whites are set but the yolks are still very soft. Gently remove them from the hot liquid with a skimmer and transfer to an ice bath to cool. Once cooled, trim off any loose whites and transfer the eggs to a towel-lined tray.
Vinaigrette : Dissolve the salt in the white wine vinegar, add the pepper, and whisk in the Dijon mustard. Gradually incorporate the oil in a steady stream, whisking continuously until emulsified. Stir in the garlic and herbs.
Garnish : Prepare the lardons : Place the lardons in a pan of cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Blanch the lardons for 1 minute, then refresh under cold running water and drain. Heat the oil in a sauté pan over high heat and sauté the lardons until golden. Drain on a paper towel and reserve the cooking pan (along with the fat from the lardons) for the livers. Prepare the croutons : Heat the clarified butter in a large, shallow pan over medium-high heat and toss the diced bread into the butter until golden on all sides. Drain on a paper towel.
Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil to reheat the poached eggs.
Drain and pat the livers dry, denerve them (remove ducts or connective tissue), slice them on the bias, and season. Reheat the pan used for cooking the lardons over medium-high heat and sauté the livers until they are pink in the middle (rosé). Set aside the livers on a wire rack near the stove to keep them warm. Deglaze the pan with a little vinaigrette.
Presentation : Toss the spinach and curly endive in the vinaigrette and place in the bottom of a salad bowl. Arrange some lardons, croûtons, and chicken livers on top. Using a skimmer, dip the eggs in the boiling water for 20 seconds to reheat. Drain the eggs and arrange them on top of the salad.
To finish, drizzle a little vinaigrette over the salad.

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