Radicchio Salad with Green Olives and Parmesan
Faith Durand

 

Radicchio Salad with Green Olives and Parmesan

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Fall salad, dressed up and glamorous

There are salads for a crowd, and salads that kids adore. There are colorful slaws, and playful mescluns, salads crunchy and light. But then there are the distinctly grownup salads, with heightened and complicated flavors. This is one of those. It has just five ingredients, but together they make a stunningly unusual composition of bitter, sweet and salty-savory. Ready? This is fall salad, all dressed up and glamorous.

I can take no credit for devising this recipe. I ate a salad very much like recently at Till Dynamic Fare, a biodynamically focused restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. The owner/chef has a way with vegetables and a flair for unusual combinations that somehow work out just right. I was trying to decide on a salad, and when I mentioned this one -- an odd combo of radicchio and olives -- the server's eyelids fluttered and she began breathing hard. I took the hint.

When the salad appeared, it was studded with green olives, smashed so that their edges echoed the ruffled curl of the radicchio. The leaves were draped in a sweet balsamic dressing that both heightened and balanced the radicchio's bitterness. Manchego cheese and the meaty, mild olives added savor. It was the most glamorous grownup salad I've ever eaten, and my husband and I tussled over the final bites.

Yet the salad itself is so simple -- just a handful of ingredients. Here it is, for your own grownup enjoyment. The olives should be Castelvetrano olives, which are lighter and not so pungent. Use the sweetest, richest balsamic you can for the dressing, as it should be rather sweet. If you don't have great balsamic, no worries -- add a drizzle of honey to boost the sweetness. As for cheese, any savory hard white cheese should work well. The restaurant used Manchego; I've made this with Parmesan.

Radicchio Salad with Green Olives and Parmesan Recipe

Inspired by Till Dynamic Fare.

Serves 4.

1 small head red radicchio

1 cup Castelvetrano olives, brine reserved

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon honey, optional

About 2 ounces Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese

Flaky salt and freshly ground black pepper

Core the radicchio and discard any browned outer leaves. Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces and put them in a large bowl.

Pit the olives and cut each one in half lengthwise. Smash each lightly with the flat of a knife, to flatten. Toss the olives with the radicchio, massaging the leaves lightly with your hands.

Whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon olive brine. Taste for sweetness, and add a drizzle or more of honey if desired. Toss the dressing with the radicchio.

Use a vegetable peeler to create large, thick flakes of cheese and toss with the salad, along with salt and pepper to taste. Serve within an hour, garnished with additional cheese if desired.

Fall Salad Recipe, Italian Cuisine

 

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Radicchio Salad with Green Olives and Parmesan

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