Need a pick-me-up for your salad routine? Fall in love with this bold yet satisfying vegetable dish, combining fried leeks and poached eggs with a warm maple syrup vinaigrette. This fresh, but satisfying salad is the perfect light meal to pair with any side of soup and a clever new way to serve healthy greens to your family.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup peanut oil
- 1/4 cup leeks, white part only, julienned
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese (optional)
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 4 eggs (or 16 quail eggs)
- 1/4 cup salt pork, julienned
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 cup maple syrup
- Salt and pepper
- 4 cups mesclun or other salad greens
Directions
- In a medium saucepan, heat the peanut oil.
- Add the julienned leeks and cheddar cheese (optional) in a medium saucepan and fry briefly.
- Drain on paper towels and set aside.
- In another saucepan, bring 2 cups of water and the white vinegar to boil.
- Poach the eggs in the boiling water (for instructions, click here), being careful not to overcook the yolks (they should remain runny).
- Plunge eggs in ice water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
- Prepare vinaigrette in a skillet, brown the salt pork until crisp.
- Keep the fat in the skillet or discard and replace with olive oil.
- Add the shallot and cook for a few seconds, then add the wine vinegar and 1/2 cup maple syrup.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
- In another saucepan, heat the remaining maple syrup.
- Plunge the eggs in the hot syrup to warm them.
- Arrange greens on serving plates, coat with warm vinaigrette and garnish with fried leeks.
- Put one egg in the center of each prepared plate and sprinkle with cheddar cheese, if desired.
