Sous Vide Poached Egg Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
Recipe courtesy of Nick Ritchie, Signature Kitchen Suite
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Eggs and Salad
4 large eggs
2 heads frisee lettuce leaves, outer leaves and stems removed
1 head red radicchio rinsed and cut in quarters
4 ounces goat’s cheese (optional)
2 Tbsp. toasted walnuts
Dressing
8 ounces slab or thick cut bacon, cut into small “batons” (lardoons)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
¾ cup sherry vinegar or verjus
¾ cup seedless grapes, halved (can sub any seasonal fresh or dried fruit)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Method
Cook eggs: Set SKS sous vide bath to 147 degrees F (higher if a firmer egg yolk is desired). Place eggs in the sous vide bath and cook for 50 minutes minimum. Eggs can remain in the bath for up to 3 hours.
Prep/cook greens: Set oven to steam assist at 450 degrees F, medium steam. Season the wedges of radicchio lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper on the steamer pan set over the flat catch pan. Place in the oven and cook on steam assist for 7-10 minutes until lightly browned but still crisp. Remove radicchio to a cutting board and cut crosswise a couple times into smaller pieces. Reserve in a mixing bowl with the frisee.
Prepare dressing: Heat olive oil and bacon in a sauté pan on medium-low heat to render the fat. Toss from time to time so that the bacon cooks evenly. Drain some of the fat into a small bowl if there is excess. Continue to cook the bacon on medium heat until it becomes crispy. Add the garlic and sauté until it begins to color, then add the thyme and let it crackle. Add the vinegar and adjust heat to an even simmer across the surface. Reduce the liquid by about half and swirl in the grapes.