May 31: French Salade Superb

2 ½ pounds new red-skinned potatoes, quartered

   Coarse salt

8 slices thick center-cut bacon

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling

1 medium red onion, quartered and thinly sliced

4 cups coarsely chopped kale

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 cup beef stock

¾ pounds fresh haricots verts or trimmed green beans, halved

¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

   Coarse black pepper

1 large heat of frisee lettuce

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, add the salt, and boil the potatoes until just fork tender, 15 to 18 minutes.

Arrange the bacon on a slotted broiler pan and place in the middle of the oven. Bake the bacon until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool, chop, and reserve.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of the EVOO. Add the red onion and sauté until just tender, 5 minutes.

Add the kale in small bunches until all is wilted down. Add the vinegar and stock and turn off the heat.

Heat a pot of water to boiling. Salt the water and add the green beans. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes; drain.

Drain the potatoes and return to the hot pot. Fold in the onion and kale mixture. Add the bacon, parsley, salt, and pepper, drizzle in the remaining tablespoon of EVOO, and fold in the cooked green beans and frisee. Transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon to drain some of the liquid in the salad.

4 SERVINGS

This salad, the variation on the German Potato Salad with Kielbasa, was not too bad. It was at least better than I thought it would be. The only thing I thought it could do without is the lettuce. My grocery store had never heard of frisee lettuce, so I used green leaf. I'm not sure if that would have made any difference because I don't know if frisee lettuce is much different. Tomorrow I will eat leftovers without the lettuce. I liked the flavor of the potatoes with the bacon and vinegar. We'll see if it's good cold. I changed the recipe by adding to drain the liquid from the salad. It was just too liquidy.