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Radicchio Salad with Caramelized Dates and Creamy Tahini
20 minutes (not including radicchio soaking) prep
10 minutes active cooking
30 minutes total
Makes 6 - 8 servings
Our friends at the Culinary Breeding Network call the upper left coast the Veneto of North America because radicchio grows so well here. The purple-red chicory has been cultivated for hundreds of years in the temperate farmlands of northeastern Italy to provide salad greens during the winter. Visit a farmers market or well-stocked produce section in Oregon and Washington during the colder months and you’ll see delicate pink heads of Rosa del Veneto, red-speckled pale green leaves of Castelfranco, and the deep purple, squid-like tendrils of Rosso di Treviso Tardivo along with the more familiar bright red spheres of Rosso di Chioggia.
Any of them work in this salad. The mildly bitter flavor is balanced with sweet caramelized dates, crunchy slices of apple, tart preserved lemon, and creamy tahini. Nutritional yeast, adds a parmigiano-like umami to the dressing.
Ingredients
For the shopping list
head radicchio*
medjool dates
apple
nutritional yeast
*the longer heads of Treviso radicchio tend to be a little less bitter than the round Chioggia and may not require soaking
From our shop
$27 - Tuscany - Italy
$18 - Brooklyn - New York
$12 - Seattle - Washington
$16 - Napa - California
$8 - Seattle - Washington
$7 - Greenville - South Carolina
$9 - Gossen Island - Norway
Equipment
From the kitchen
Salad Spinner
Large Mixing Bowl
Skillet
Chef's Knife
Cutting Board
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
The long-leafed Treviso Precoce looks like bright red Romaine lettuce and is often milder.
If you can only get the round Chioggia variety, use this restaurant trick to temper its bitter flavor: cut the leaves and soak them in cold water for at least 30 minutes.
Step 1
Chop radicchio into bite-sized pieces. To reduce its bitterness, soak the cut radicchio in ice water for at least 30 minutes or up to 90 minutes, then drain or use a salad spinner.
Step 2
Remove the pits from the dates and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Cook in 1 teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat until lightly browned and a little crispy, from 5-10 minutes.
Step 3
Cut the apple into quarters, remove the cores, cut each quarter in half, and slice into bite-sized pieces.
Step 4
Stir together 1 teaspoon of preserved lemon paste, 1 teaspoon garlic sauce, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 tablespoon tahini, 1 tablespoon mayo, 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, and 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Step 5
Toss the radicchio, apple and dates with the dressing. Taste and add salt if needed.
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