Leafy Winter Salad

Updated Dec. 17, 2024

Leafy Winter Salad
Kate Sears for The New York Times.
Total Time
15 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Rating
5(120)
Comments
Read comments

Bitter winter chicories are balanced with some endive and cress, and sweetened with a honey-spiked dressing. It makes a refreshing side to any rich wintry dish. As vinegar and honey can vary wildly in flavor, dip a leaf into your dressing jar to check it for seasoning and balance, adjusting as needed before tossing it through the salad.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

    For the Dressing

    • 5tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    • 3tablespoons red wine vinegar
    • 2teaspoons honey or maple syrup
    • 1 to 3garlic cloves, grated, to taste
    • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper

    For the Salad

    • 1head radicchio
    • 1head Castelfranco (or substitute butter lettuce)
    • 3heads Belgian endive
    • Flaky sea salt
    • 1bunch watercress
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

93 calories; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 1 gram protein; 196 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the dressing: Place the olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and a few twists of black pepper in a jar and cover and shake to combine.

  2. Step 2

    To prepare the salad, trim any brown ends off the radicchio, Castelfranco and endive heads. Click off the radicchio and Castelfranco leaves and tear each into three. Click off the endive outer leaves and slice the hearts lengthwise. Place all these in a large bowl and toss with two-thirds of the dressing. Taste for seasoning and adjust with any flaky sea salt if needed, before folding through the more delicate watercress and spooning some extra dressing on top, if the salad needs it.

Ratings

5 out of 5
120 user ratings
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Comments

@Xanadu - you can calm the bitterness of the radicchio by soaking the leaves in ice water for a couple hours before making the salad. Then dry them and tear into your desired size. Smaller pieces will allow a forkful to combine your greens so the whole bite isn't raddichio. It is bitter but, treated right, it is also delicious - and beautiful!

Highly suggest adding a Cara Cara orange, or some citrus to this - it added an extra element that brought out the sweetness of the dressing and the bitter lettuce

Gorgeous salad and simple, delicious, perfectly matched dressing. Delivers much needed winter freshness and crunch. We subbed red butter lettuce for the castelfranco (admittedly less bitter, but just as gorgeous). Don't skimp on the endive, as its sweetness helps to ease the bitterness of the raddichio.

Highly suggest adding a Cara Cara orange, or some citrus to this - it added an extra element that brought out the sweetness of the dressing and the bitter lettuce

Gorgeous salad and simple, delicious, perfectly matched dressing. Delivers much needed winter freshness and crunch. We subbed red butter lettuce for the castelfranco (admittedly less bitter, but just as gorgeous). Don't skimp on the endive, as its sweetness helps to ease the bitterness of the raddichio.

@Xanadu - you can calm the bitterness of the radicchio by soaking the leaves in ice water for a couple hours before making the salad. Then dry them and tear into your desired size. Smaller pieces will allow a forkful to combine your greens so the whole bite isn't raddichio. It is bitter but, treated right, it is also delicious - and beautiful!

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