Radicchio Date Salad

Thanks to Root Down Farm, we’ve been enjoying radicchio nearly every day for the past month. It’s lovely raw or cooked.

This salad makes a lovely side, and it’s also nice as a meal if you have leftover chicken to bulk it up.

The toasted rosemary nuts yield more than you’ll use for this salad, so keep them on hand for future salads or snacking. I buy my nuts at Thorpe's Farm- we source the nuts from Tierra Farm and they're the freshest, highest quality nuts I've found!

Radicchio is a gorgeous green (although most varieties are shades of red, maroon and pink) that leans bitter in flavor, like all members of the chicory family.

Radicchio’s bitterness lend help towards digestion and liver health, by stimulating bile flow and improving stomach acid production. It's also exceptionally rich in vitamin K as well as copper, copper being a mineral that aids in iron absorption.

You’ll find radicchio in grocery stores this time of year, and it’s worth stocking up on as it lasts a few weeks or longer in the fridge if stored properly, in a plastic bag with any spoiled outer leaves removed. If you're local, Wegmans and Lexington Co-op both have radicchio available during the winter months.

Salad ingredients:

-1 head radicchio (I used Rosso di Treviso for this salad, as it’s crunchy and more mild than other varieties)

-1 large, crisp apple, cored and diced

-4-5 plump dates, pitted and diced- I love the Rancho Meladuco Farm dates from Thorpe's

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-pickled red onions, if desired

Vinaigrette ingredients:

-2 tablespoons fire cider

-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

-1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard (whole grain mustard is a good substitute)

-salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Toasted nuts with rosemary ingredients:

-2 cups mixed, unsalted, raw nuts and seeds of your choice (I like a blend of pecans, almonds and pumpkin seeds)

-1 tablespoon finely minced fresh rosemary

-1/4 teaspoon celery seed

-3 tablespoons olive oil

-2 tablespoons maple syrup

-salt to taste 

Method:

1. Make vinaigrette by whisking together fire cider and mustard until smooth. Add olive oil and whisk vigorously until the oil and vinegar emulsify and look creamy. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Set aside.

2. Make toasted rosemary nuts by roughly chopping nuts/seeds. Add to a large, heavy-bottomed skillet such as a large cast iron pan. Toast over low heat for 5-8 minutes, stirring often to ensure the nuts don’t burn. You want the nuts to take on a golden color and to smell fragrant, before removing from heat.

Once toasted to your liking, stir in the minced rosemary, celery seed, olive oil and maple syrup. Stir well to combine, then sprinkle salt on and stir before tasting and adjusting the salt. Pour nuts onto a sheet of parchment paper and set aside to cool.

3. Make salad by cutting the radicchio leaves off of the tough root stem. Discard the stem, and arrange the radicchio leaves on a large plate. Scatter the raw apple slices over the radicchio, then scatter a handful of the toasted rosemary nuts on the radicchio. If you’re using pickled red onion, add them to the top of the salad now.

4. To prepare the dates, add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a heavy bottomed skillet, along with the diced, pitted dates. Cook over low heat for a few minutes, stirring often, until the dates begin to caramelize a bit. Watch them closely as they are prone to burn due to their high sugar content.

Once caramelized to your liking, remove from heat immediately and add to the salad, using your fingers to break up pieces that stuck together so they’re well dispersed.  

5. Lastly, drizzle the vinaigrette over the top of the salad and serve.