I hate gritty produce!
At the CSA pick-up recently, one of the things Frank brought home was a beautiful head of escarole. It’s something I always like, both cooked and raw, but tend to avoid because it needs careful washing and sometimes I’m just not in the mood (you know what I mean?).
After a leisurely bath and a thorough shower (the escarole, not the Accidental Locavore), it was ready for a simple escarole salad recipe I’d seen in bon appétit. This served 6:
Escarole Salad
- ¼ small red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 6 cups torn escarole (from about 2 heads)
- 2 tablespoons rinsed capers
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup shaved peeled horseradish (or prepared horseradish)
Soak onion in a small bowl of ice water at least 30 minutes (you can do this while the escarole is soaking). Drain and pat dry.
Whisk crème frâiche, oil, lemon juice, and vinegar in a large bowl. Add escarole, capers, and drained onion; season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
Top salad with horseradish and season with more pepper, serve and enjoy!
My verdict:
This escarole salad was made for dinner with friends. Because there wasn’t a scrap left, it proved to be a big hit. Super simple and really delicious! While the summer may be peak time for escarole, it’s not for fresh horseradish, which becomes a small problem. Imagine how much better this could be with the punch you’d get from fresh (or fresher than what I had) horseradish!
Instead of soaking the onions (which I do a lot these days with raw onions) I had made some pickled red onions and used those instead.
The dressing I made separately so I could do it ahead of time. Check it for taste, remembering that it’s going on bitter greens so you might want to add a bit more crème frâiche and adjust the horseradish accordingly.
It’s a great dressing and would work well on a lot of different greens. Grilled radicchio anyone?
