Mixed Chicories with Warm Bagna Cauda Dressing

12 minutes prep 10 minutes active cooking 22 minutes total

Makes 6 servings

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This salad is a study in dynamic contrasts.

Cool greens, warm dressing. Bitter chicories, salty capers and umami-rich anchovies. The dressing will be quite intensely flavored when you taste it in the pan but don’t worry, it will be balanced perfectly by the hearty greens and fresh fennel.

~ Mona Johnson & Jaret Foster, guest contributors and owners of Tournant

What You'll Need

Ingredients

For the shopping list

8 cups of mixed chicories, cleaned and torn into bite size pieces
1 small fennel bulb, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Edible flower petals (optional)
For serving dried shrimp (optional)

From our shop

6 Brown Anchovies
$24.00– San Sebastian - Spain

1 tablespoon of rinsed Capers in Sea Salt
$20.00– Pantelleria - Sicily

2 tablespoons of Zinfandel Vinegar
$16.00– Napa - California

Out of stock

1/3 cup of Novo Frantoio
$27.00– Tuscany - Italy

Equipment

From the kitchen

1 Small Skillet
1 Mixing Spoon
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons

For your chicory blend, go for a mixture of as many colors, shapes and textures as you can.

Try any combination of radicchio, Treviso, Tardivo, frisee, endive, hearts of escarole, the gloriously speckled Castelfranco or the marvelously pink Rosa del Veneto.

What you'll have to do

Step 1

Warm olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add anchovies and garlic and cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant and anchovies collapse into a paste. Remove from heat and add capers and vinegar to pan, stirring to combine. Taste and adjust with more vinegar or oil as needed.

Step 2

Pile chicories attractively on a platter. Spoon dressing over the salad and sprinkle with flower petals, if desired. Serve the dried shrimp in a little bowl on the side for guests to garnish their salads.