Fall & Winter Hearty Salad

As winter is just around the corner and fall has already started, this salad will be a perfect meal for the season; it is very hearty and fulfilling enough to be a main dish.

A big plus: It is easy to prepare.

The following quantities are for 2 people, so feel free to adjust if you are cooking for more or fewer people, or according to your taste*.

For the salad:

• Some lettuce or salad
• 2 eggs
• 3 potatoes
• Some vegetable oil to roast the potatoes
• Some bacon, or lardons, or ham
• Some Comté cheese (or sharp cheddar)
• Some croutons or old bread that you will toast

For the vinaigrette: (you can adjust the measurements according to your taste)

• 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
• 1 to 1.5 tablespoon of vinegar
• 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• Some shallots (optional ... to your taste)
• Some chives (optional ... to your taste)
• Salt
• Pepper

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Start by rinsing and drying the salad if it's a fresh one from the shelf, or just open your salad packet and keep on the side.

Boil the egg in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Once they are cooked, rinse them with cold water, and let them sit in the fridge to cool down.

Peel your potatoes and cut them into cubes. In a pan, add some vegetable oil and heat it up. Place the cubed potatoes, roast them, and keep them on the side.

If you are using bacon, remove most of the fat from the bacon and cut it into pieces. If you are using lardons or ham, just toss the pieces into a hot pan and roast them.

Set them aside after they are roasted.

Cut the borders off the Comté cheese ...

... then cut it into slices and into cubes, and put it aside.

Once the eggs are cooled, peel them, cut them, and place them on the side.

Cut some bread into pieces and toast them, or just open the croutons packet you bought.

Prepare your dressing by adding, in a bowl, a teaspoon of French Mustard and the vinegar. Mix together and add the previously cut shallots, chives, some salt, and pepper. Add the olive oil and mix.

Just before serving, reheat your potatoes and your lardons for a few minutes, and cut your toasted pieces of bread in cubes.

It is now time to dress your plate: Plate the salad, the Comté cheese, the potatoes, the lardons, the croutons, and the eggs.

Add your dressing ... and enjoy!

*Note: If you happen to have some leftovers sun-dried tomatoes, you can add them to this salad, but be careful to not add to many ingredients as this is a fulfilling enough salad the way it is.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Charline Leblond