Certain salads become classics for a reason. It’s not just how good they are in their traditional form, but how well they allow for creativity. Take Caesar Salad for example, it’s made most often with romaine lettuce, but is equally delicious made with roasted Brussels sprouts or thinly sliced raw Brussels sprouts and chard.
Then there is Salade Niçoise, a classic salad that almost always includes tuna, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs and, of course, Niçoise olives. But look at ten recipes for it and you’ll find all kinds of other ingredients from green beans and potatoes to anchovies and artichoke hearts.
This recipe is a twist on Salad Lyonnaise, the French bistro salad of curly, bitter frisée and bacon lardons tossed in a warm vinaigrette and topped with a poached egg.
Honestly, my version came by necessity.
The grocery store where I shop almost never has frisée on hand. As was true the last time I had it on my list, so I decided to search the produce department for a substitution. I’d used curly endive before, which is very good, but is firmer and more bitter than frisée. I decided on Savoy Cabbage and, you know what, it stands in beautifully for frisée! It has a light pleasant crunch and tastes at the same time sweet and slightly bitter. Then for fun, instead of a poached egg, I topped each serving with a goat cheese ‘crouton’: crunchy on the outside, warm and soft in the middle.
How’s that for allowing creativity? Salad Lyonnaise, it’s truly a classic!
Savoy Cabbage Salad with Bacon and Goat Cheese
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
- 4 ounces fresh goat cheese
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 small head Savoy cabbage very thinly sliced crosswise
- 4 slices thick bacon cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 shallot minced
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
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Place bread crumbs on a small plate.
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Cut fresh goat cheese into 2 equal rounds. Brush each round on all sides with olive oil and then press into bread crumbs to coat; transfer to another small plate. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
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When ready to prepare salad, preheat oven to 425°F.
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Place a small piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Transfer chilled goat cheese rounds to prepared baking sheet and bake 10 minutes, or until lightly brown on the outside and soft in the middle. (You can broil the tops for a few seconds if you'd like the breadcrumbs to be more crunchy)
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Meanwhile, place Savoy cabbage in a large salad bowl.
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Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, add bacon pieces. Cook and stir until crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon. Add shallots to skillet; cook and stir until softened, about 1 minute. Add red wine vinegar; reduce heat and simmer one minute more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
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Pour warm dressing over cabbage, add bacon and toss to coat evenly. Divide between two salad bowls and top each with a warm goat cheese round. Serve.
I saw this on FB last week – and I’ve been drooling over it since then! Absolutely wonderfully mouthwatering combo of flavors here!
Thanks, Shashi!
Oh man, those goat cheese croutons! THey give regular croutons a bad name.
haha, thanks Joanne! And there goes the day, I’m going to have Bon Jovi in my head now. 😉
THIS would make me happy right this minute. It’s a very comforting dish for me.
I wish I could make it for you, Maureen!
Way to work with the ingredients you could find!! and oh my gawd. . that goat cheese ‘crouton’. . whoa. . love love love!!
haha, thanks Alice!
Hooray for cabbage! It’s so underrated and so delicious. This salad looks fantastic — I love the toasted goat cheese!
Thanks, Eileen. And I agree on both points… 🙂
This is such a lovely salad, Marissa! Love the goat cheese!
Thanks so much, Jen!
You’re going to laugh but I made something very similar and like you, it came out of necessity! 😀 This looks wonderful Marissa!
Love it! Sometimes we cooks have to get creative, right? Thanks, Lorraine. 😉
This looks absolutely delicious! I love salads for their creativity inspiring freedom as well!
Thanks, Mary!
There’s not much better than warm goat cheese on a salad – love this!
Agreed! Thanks, Trish.
This looks SO good, Marissa! I positively love breaded goat cheese – yum! And I love that you came up with a practical, actually feasible alternative to the frisee. I’m always looking for a good salad recipe, and I’ll definitely be pinning this to try! Thank you 🙂
Thank you! If you try it, I’d love to hear what you think…
This is a lovely idea, Marissa! I love how you’ve coated the goat cheese to make it almost slightly naughty … but then you’ve got that wholesome cabbage in the salad. This would make a beautifully balanced treat of a lunch!
haha, “slightly naughty?” – well, yes, I suppose it is. 🙂 Thanks, Helen!
I can totally see that! Frisee is quite expensive usually here in Sydney whereas cabbage is a staple, I always have some in the fridge. I think I’m going to make this tonight!! I don’t have goats cheese but I have a soft feta which will sub ok. YUM! Thanks Marissa!! 🙂
Thanks, Nagi! I love the idea of soft feta in this!
I am going to save your recipe and make it this summer! Looks so good 🙂
Thank you, Oana!
Lovely photos! Love all the different textures here.
Awww, thanks Medha!
Wow, this looks super good and as I’m not a big frisée fan, perfect choice with the savoy cabbage! The goat cheese crouton gave me flashbacks sitting at a bistro near the Eiffel Tower… thanks!
That sounds like the ‘flashback’ I could go for. 🙂
Hi Marissa! This looks so summery and refreshing! When my local market puts the goat cheese on sale I buy it, cut it into rounds, coat it in Panko and freeze them – that way I have them on hand whenever I get a craving! And I love savoy cabbage!
That’s such a great idea, Dorothy! Then you can skip the waiting part and put them straight into the oven…
I absolutely love goat cheese encrusted with bread crumbs on a salad. I’ve always pan fried it, I’ve never tried baking it! That would certainly cut back on the calories a bit! I SO need to try this!
You know what’s funny, Kathleen? I’ve never pan fried it. 🙂 I’ve got to try that too…