chicory — Annie & Alison: A Food Blog

I discovered earlier this year that radicchio is far too bitter for my taste. Most chicories are. I didn’t expect to enjoy this salad, which proved true. But one of my dinner guests enjoyed it so much that he took home all of the leftovers. I guess it’s an acquired taste.

This salad is very simple — torn radicchio and mint leaves tossed with grated garlic, lemon juice, and preserved lemon. Salt and pepper, of course. And laid atop salted greek yogurt. But no matter the flavor pairing, a salad that primarily consists of radicchio, in my opinion, will always be dominated by its inherent bitterness, even with a creamy dressing like yogurt. But the salad sure looked beautiful!

I served this salad alongside Alison’s Vinegar-Roasted Beets (love!), Yogurt-Marinated Leg of Lamb (post to come), and Sour Cream Flatbreads (a true omg).

218 recipes cooked, 7 to go.

Before making this recipe, I had no idea what radicchio, endives, or chicories were. I couldn’t pick them out of a line-up if I tried.

Okay, now I’m imagining a bunch of vegetables all standing in a long line and making small talk with each other...

Celery: “Ey Tomato, why you gotta be so short?”

Tomato: “Don’t make me get red in the face!”

Cucumber: “Hey there, gourdgeous!”

Gourd: “Well you’re lookin’ mighty cuke yourself!”

Radicchio: “Endive, why are you so bitter?”

Endive: “I could ask you the same question!”

Radicchio: “Is it because we’re both in the chicory family?”

Endive: “Could be… but what’s chicory ever done to you?”

I’ll stop. But honestly I did have to Google these leafy greens to know what I was searching for. And good thing I did because neither radicchio NOR endive, both of which belong to the chicory family, are green!

This may be one of the more aesthetically pleasing salads I’ve ever assembled, but sadly that didn’t mean it was the most tasty. Both radicchio and endives are quite bitter, which means I would personally pair them with a vinaigrette that’s on the sweeter side for balance. Instead, this recipe calls for an equally bitter dressing made of olive oil, lemon juice and mustard. For Jordan, the bitterness was simply too overpowering and he chose not to eat it.

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The dressed leaves are topped with anchovy bread crumbs and raw egg yolks. Now, if you read the Kimchi-Braised Pork essay, you’ll know that raw egg yolks are not my thing, so it would be no surprise that I skipped them here, too.

Homemade bread crumbs, on the other hand, are most definitely up my alley, and will never be skipped if I can help it. These bread crumbs have an added twist: before adding the freshly pulsated crumbs to the frying pan, several anchovies and some olive oil are cooked down into a paste, which then soaks into the crumbs. This gives them an extra umami; a slightly fishy but wonderfully salty edge that makes them contribute more than simply adding texture. I really enjoyed this crumb recipe twist. However, a slightly fishy bread crumb paired with a very bitter salad, is not my ideal combination.

Would the called-for addition of egg yolk have changed my mind? I don’t think so. Looking back, I do think the fix could have been as simple as adding a bit of honey or sugar to the vinaigrette. I did eat my full plate of salad, but I can’t say it was enjoyable. Nevertheless, there are several more, what Alison calls “knife-and-fork” salads, left to make, and I have hope that I’ll find success with at least one of them. I mean, they’re from Alison Roman. How could I not?

40 recipes cooked, 185 to go.

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