This salad is a real homage to the American-Italian “red sauce” restaurants of my youth. The tablecloths are red checked, the grated parmesan and chilli flakes sit in jars on the table, the dressings are sharp and the tomato sauce is sweet. And so I’m calling this dressing “Italian” for no reason other than it’s the type of dressing you would find at these places. The salad would typically have been made with iceberg, but I like it with radicchio for a more adult taste and texture.
Ingredients (serves 4)
1 cup (60 g) sourdough breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 head radicchio di Chioggia (the round one)
1 x 400 g (14 oz) tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¼ cup (25 g) freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus extra to garnish
¼ cup (40 g) pickled guindilla chillies, chopped
Fine sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Dressing
240 ml (8 fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil
30 g (1 oz) minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
¼ cup (40 g) finely diced French shallot (see notes)
¼ teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
100 ml (3½ fl oz) white wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Method
For the dressing, in a small saucepan, combine half the olive oil with the garlic and shallot and heat over a low heat. When they start sizzling, cook for a further minute, then turn the heat off and allow to cool.
Combine all the remaining dressing ingredients in a glass jar, along with the other half of the olive oil. Pour in the cooled olive oil-garlic mix and a few cracks of pepper. Close the jar and give everything a good shake. Refrigerate the finished dressing until you’re ready to dress your salad.
Heat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Toss the breadcrumbs with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt and a few cracks of pepper. Spread them onto a baking tray and toast until golden brown and crunchy, about 8 minutes.
Use a knife to thinly slice the radicchio, then combine it in a bowl with the chickpeas, parmesan, pickled chillies, toasted breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt. Give your dressing a good shake before pouring some of it onto the salad; use as much or as little dressing as you like and keep any leftover in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Toss the salad together and serve topped with an extra shaving of parmesan.
Notes: Whenever I have leftover sourdough bread, I cut the crusts off and process the stale bread in a food processor to form breadcrumbs. I keep those in a sealed container in my freezer to use as I need. If making fresh, for 1 cup (60 g) of breadcrumbs you’ll need 2 cups of torn, crustless sourdough. Toasted breadcrumbs are excellent added to salads or sprinkled on top of pasta dishes.
There’s an important difference between diced (as for the French shallot in this recipe) and minced (as for the garlic). The act of dicing a vegetable is reliant on precise cuts to arrive at cube-shaped pieces (literally, dice). Mincing is the step beyond that, when you run your knife over the ingredient – aim for a see-sawing motion with the knife that will result in a mass, rather than distinct individual shapes. In the case of onion or French shallot, unless specified as “minced”, it’s important not to do that in order to retain the texture and bite they bring to dishes. A sharp knife is imperative for both mincing and dicing without bruising, particularly for herbs, allowing them to retain their green vibrancy and fresh flavour.
This delicious Radicchio Chopped Salad is from Recipes for a Lifetime of Beautiful Cooking by Danielle Alvarez.
This salad is a real homage to the American-Italian “red sauce” restaurants of my youth. The tablecloths are red checked, the grated parmesan and chilli flakes sit in jars on the table, the dressings are sharp and the tomato sauce is sweet. And so I’m calling this dressing “Italian” for no reason other than it’s the type of dressing you would find at these places. The salad would typically have been made with iceberg, but I like it with radicchio for a more adult taste and texture.
Ingredients (serves 4)
1 cup (60 g) sourdough breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 head radicchio di Chioggia (the round one)
1 x 400 g (14 oz) tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¼ cup (25 g) freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus extra to garnish
¼ cup (40 g) pickled guindilla chillies, chopped
Fine sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Dressing
240 ml (8 fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil
30 g (1 oz) minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
¼ cup (40 g) finely diced French shallot (see notes)
¼ teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
100 ml (3½ fl oz) white wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Method
For the dressing, in a small saucepan, combine half the olive oil with the garlic and shallot and heat over a low heat. When they start sizzling, cook for a further minute, then turn the heat off and allow to cool.
Combine all the remaining dressing ingredients in a glass jar, along with the other half of the olive oil. Pour in the cooled olive oil-garlic mix and a few cracks of pepper. Close the jar and give everything a good shake. Refrigerate the finished dressing until you’re ready to dress your salad.
Heat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Toss the breadcrumbs with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt and a few cracks of pepper. Spread them onto a baking tray and toast until golden brown and crunchy, about 8 minutes.
Use a knife to thinly slice the radicchio, then combine it in a bowl with the chickpeas, parmesan, pickled chillies, toasted breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt. Give your dressing a good shake before pouring some of it onto the salad; use as much or as little dressing as you like and keep any leftover in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Toss the salad together and serve topped with an extra shaving of parmesan.
Notes: Whenever I have leftover sourdough bread, I cut the crusts off and process the stale bread in a food processor to form breadcrumbs. I keep those in a sealed container in my freezer to use as I need. If making fresh, for 1 cup (60 g) of breadcrumbs you’ll need 2 cups of torn, crustless sourdough. Toasted breadcrumbs are excellent added to salads or sprinkled on top of pasta dishes.
There’s an important difference between diced (as for the French shallot in this recipe) and minced (as for the garlic). The act of dicing a vegetable is reliant on precise cuts to arrive at cube-shaped pieces (literally, dice). Mincing is the step beyond that, when you run your knife over the ingredient – aim for a see-sawing motion with the knife that will result in a mass, rather than distinct individual shapes. In the case of onion or French shallot, unless specified as “minced”, it’s important not to do that in order to retain the texture and bite they bring to dishes. A sharp knife is imperative for both mincing and dicing without bruising, particularly for herbs, allowing them to retain their green vibrancy and fresh flavour.
Want more? Click here for Creamy Avocado Tahini Dip Recipe.
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