Mixed Chicories with Warm Bagna Cauda Dressing
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)
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.
Shop this recipe
From the Sea
Brown Anchovies
San Sebastian - Spain
Out of stock
Capers, Pickles, & Peppers
Capers in Sea Salt
Pantelleria - Sicily
Vinegar
Zinfandel Vinegar
Napa - California
Out of stock
Olive Oil
Novo Frantoio
Tuscany - Italy
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