2small heads of radicchio, halved, cored and chopped into 1-inch pieces
4-6ouncespasture-raised slab bacon
1pasture raised egg
1cupfinely grated sheep's milk manchego cheese
Champagne Vinaigrette
¼cupchampagne vinegar, or other white wine
1tablespoonlemon juice
1tablespoonvery finely minced shallot
⅓cupextra virgin olive oil
1teaspoondijon mustard
sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Give the Radicchio a Bath. In a large bowl, cover the radicchio with ice water and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain and dry well.
Make the Vinaigrette.While the radicchio is taking a soak, make your vinaigrette. Add all of the ingredients to a small bowl, whisk very well to emulsify and combine. Season with sea salt and black pepper, to taste, going light on the salt since we have salt coming from the cheese and the lardons. Set aside.
Cook the Bacon Lardons. Cut the slab bacon into large chunks, called lardons (or cut slices into chunks). They should be about 1-by-1/4-inch or so. In a medium skillet over medium heat, add the bacon pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the fat has rendered and bacon is starting to brown and it's nice and crisp. Approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. If you render enough fat in the pan, you can use some of that in the vinaigrette, if you'd like additional flavor.
Cook the six-minute egg. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Using a slotted spoon, carefully lower the eggs into the water. Cook 6 minutes, adjusting heat to maintain a gentle boil. Transfer the egg to a bowl of ice water and chill until ready to serve. Peel the egg.*
Assemble the Salad. In a large serving dish add the chopped radicchio, make sure it's nice and dry. Add the lardons and about 3/4 of the Manchego cheese. Drizzle the vinaigrette over top, you may not use it all, so go easy, you can always add more. Toss the salad well.
Serve topped with the remaining Manchego cheese. Roughly chop the peeled 6 minute egg and place on top of the salad. Season with black pepper and serve.
Notes
Your egg can be cooked and peeled up to 3 days ahead of time.For paleo and whole30 or for dairy intolerances, opt to leave out the manchego cheese. Maybe try a little nutritional yeast for the cheesy factor and adjust the salt in your vinaigrette accordingly.