A French touch turns beans, bacon into a fast dinner
Innovations in salad-making don't come along every day, and salad cookbooks in the modern era tend to share a certain look: top-down view, round bowl. Some of those books dispense with extra styling elements and use the same plain, white bowl throughout.
I remember being served a first course of salad in a small rustic restaurant in Villefranche-sur-Mer wherein the server brought a large handled basket of pristine, freshly washed lettuces and whole vegetables to choose from, presumably from the garden outside. Our pointing fingers led to deft carving, returned to the table in a heap on a cutting board, with pots of dip-consistency dressings.
This recipe from the new “Leon Happy Salads” (Conran/Octopus) brought that memory to the fore. The scatter of long romaine lettuce leaves topped with creamy Dijon dressing and a bean medley glistening from its own vinaigrette work together. There's much to crunch and chew; the presence of crisped bacon turns the salad into a main course meat lovers can appreciate. It deserves a nice display and, for that matter, a better name.
I've been told that long lists of ingredients are a turnoff when readers are looking for ideas. Although this has more components than we like to run for this column — and we even cut out a few — trust me when I say it's not more than you can handle on a weeknight.
It might be fun to assemble on a big serving board, then bring to the table and let folks dig in. It may inspire you to literally throw together your own future combinations.