Makes 4 salads
SPEEDY
The name of this salad isn’t as misleading as it seems: It’s a perfect lunch, but it’s made at breakfast. Add more eggs to your weekly 7-minute egg boil, throw in some extra bacon when you’re doing your Saturday morning fry-up, and boom! You’ve got half of this salad made already. All that’s left to do is to chop a head of romaine and whisk together the maple vinaigrette. Keep these components in your fridge and throw together the salad whenever you want one (probably several times a week).
8 Perfect 7-Minute Eggs (here)
8 ounces thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large head romaine lettuce, or 2 small heads Bibb lettuce, leaves separated and torn into big pieces
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
If your eggs have been in the fridge, peel them and put them in a large bowl of lukewarm water to let them come to room temperature while you cook the bacon. (Change out the water if it gets too cold). Dry the eggs with a clean kitchen towel and slice them in half.
Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it’s crispy and a good amount of fat has rendered, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel–lined plate.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, and maple syrup. Keep whisking while you stream in the olive oil.
In a large bowl, toss the romaine with 2 tablespoons of the maple vinaigrette. Divide the romaine among four shallow bowls. Divide the bacon among the bowls, and put four egg halves on each salad. Season each egg half with a little kosher salt. Grind a generous amount of pepper over each salad, and serve with extra vinaigrette on the side.
Alternatively, pack the undressed salads into four separate containers, and take to work with a bit of dressing on the side.