What’s Cooking: January
A dazzling winter salad
Some argue that the impossibility of growing fresh things in the dead of winter means we shouldn’t eat salads this time of year. I wholeheartedly agree that slices of tomato and cucumber are best left to peak summer, but the perfect balance found here of sweet and bitter, soft and crunchy, make this a seasonal delight not to be missed.
There are a variety of now widely available winter greens that complement each other and fit the flavor profile of this salad equally well. Mix and match: Chicory, Frisee, Endive and Radicchio are all part of this happy family. If you don’t know them yet, this is a great time to meet and greet.
Serves 6 – 8
Ingredients
- 1 large head of leafy Chicory or frisee
- 2 medium endive (often sold in 2 packs)
- 1/2 head radicchio (optional)
- 1 bulb fennel
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
- 1 pomegranate
- 1 cup hazelnuts -toasted
- 1 whole lemon
- 2 whole oranges (grapefruit also works great)
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Preparation
- Toast hazelnuts in the oven or gently on the stove top, careful not to scorch
- Wash leafy produce and spin dry. (I tend not to wash radicchio and endive, they rarely arrive with any grit)
- Peel pomegranate and remove seeds, peel orange and remove segments from skin
- Thinly slice fennel bulb, using the first 1″ of the stem and reserving the fronds for garnish (and reserve stems for the stock pot!)
- Tear or chop leafy greens as much as you like for a salad.
- Make a simple dressing with the juice from the lemon, a wee dab of honey, salt, pepper and olive oil.
- I like to assemble this salad in layers, tossing all the greens together first, then laying in greens, fennel, pomegranate and oranges. (reserve a few pomegranate seeds for garnish)
- Drizzle dressing on top and finish each bowl with toasted hazelnuts, fennel frond, pomegranate seeds and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.