Recipe: Fennel, Chicory and Escarole Salad

Recipe Source: Oltranti, Toni.  Gourmet, January 2009, available on Epicurious here. 

One of my New Year's resolutions is to eat healthier.  I'm generally a reasonably healthy eater, or so I think, but like most people I think I can probably do better.  One way of doing better is salad.  Lots and lots of salad.  This sounds a little odd, but I actually like salad.  There are two major problems with that.  First: sometimes you want a hot dish.  Salad shouldn't be hot, although there are some salads with warm proteins.  Second: sometimes you get bored.  Salad can get dull.  There isn't really a solution to the first problem, but the second is easily solved by trying a whole lot of different salads.  I've been finding some great ideas as I've been digitizing my magazine collection. 

I made a couple of small changes to the recipe.  Who are we kidding, one of them was a major change.  I couldn't find any frise lettuce, so I substituted chicory.  I did this basically on a whim; chicory is kind of frizzy-looking, so I threw it in.  I don't think that it was misplaced.  There were a couple of other dishes on the menu when I served this that were a little on the sweet side, so the chicory kind of balanced them out.  I reduced the amount of olive oil and dramatically reduced the amount of cheese.  Good Parmesan isn't cheap, so it helped keep the cost down as well!  We both really liked the salad - and, of course, the recipe made an absolute ton of the stuff, which kept well in the refrigerator for a few days' worth of leftovers. 

Fennel, Chicory and Escarole Salad (serves 8; approx. $0.74/serving)

3 shallots, minced    

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 head escarole lettuce

1 head chicory

1 fennel bulb

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ounce Parmesan cheese, shaved

Equipment:

• Small bowl
• Whisk

1. Combine the first four ingredients in the small bowl.  Whisk well to combine.
2. Tear the lettuce leaves into bite sized pieces.  Put them in the serving bowl.
3. Slice the fennel very thin; place in the bowl.
4. When you are ready to serve, whisk the olive oil into the vinegar mixture.  Add to the serving bowl and toss well to coat.
5. Add the cheese and serve.

Comments

[Foodista]

After the holidays, it's sure nice to eat more greens! Great salad suggestion! Hope you could share this recipe also over at Foodista! Have a great weekend!