What recipe will you be sharing with us today?
Not so much a recipe, aside from the vinaigrette, but more as a use what you got this fall “harvest salad” type thing! I love salads, and my favorite type of base lettuces are in season in the fall/winter, like lacinato kale and chicories (endive, radicchio, frisée). I typically use one or both, depending on what I have on hand as my base. Then I add in whatever seasonal veg I have around, and love to have one be roasted, and one be raw. In this case I used broccoli that I chopped into small florets, and roasted some baby beets. Roasted delicata squash, acorn squash, carrots, or sweet potato would be other great options. As for raw veg, carrots, cauliflower, and red onion are some good ones. Fruit feels like a must in harvest salads, like pear, apple, persimmons, or pomegranate seeds. I went with an apple and persimmon for this salad.
I need crunchy bits in my salad so this could look like pepita seeds, buckwheat groats, walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, rosemary bread crumbs or croutons. Today I used toasted walnuts and buckwheat groats.
Radicchio is bitter and does really well with a sweet and creamy component. Our chosen fruit will help with that, but a cheese will really round it out. I went with some herbed goat cheese I had on hand, but you could also use ricotta, blue cheese, gorgonzola, or feta. If you’re vegan, of course feel free to skip this step!
Last is the dressing. To combat the bitter greens and earthy veg, some acidity and sweetness will be best. You can use your own favorite dressings along these lines (balsamic dressing, honey garlic vin..) I made a maple apple cider dressing using 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste (a generous pinch is typically a good spot). Toss all to combine and enjoy for lunch, add some protein like chicken or beans to make a filling dinner, or bring to your Holiday tables this year!
