{Semi-Spring} Tricolore Salad

So I made pizza – ramp pizza even – and it wasn’t the highlight of dinner.  The winner was a salad.  Are you kidding me?  I liked a salad better than pizza – homemade pizza nonetheless?  Granted, the crust wasn’t my fave, which started a weekend long odyssey to find my favorite crust recipe, but seriously, even with Mozza crust, this salad was killer.

I love tricolore salads, particularly with a good pizza (Delfina and Lil’ Frankies, I’m talking to you), so when I ran to the store to grab some yeast, I threw a head of radicchio and a few lil’ endives in my basket.  I know they aren’t exactly in season, but I couldn’t help it.  So to make it a bit fitting for April, I swapped the arugula for barely-roasted thin asparagus.

I’m not much of a balsamic person (I think in overloaded in the early aughts), but it is just a classic part of a salad like this, that I couldn’t help but incorporate it.  But since I don’t use it much, I only keep the cheap stuff around, and I wanted something with a bit more substance.

The toughest part of this whole salad was reducing the balsamic vinegar into a syrup – which was no work at all.

Chop the lettuces and asparagus, coat them in a bittersweet slick of olive oil, honey and lemon and add sprinkling of course salt and pepper.  Top it all with generous shavings of pecorino and drizzle the whole lot with the balsamic syrup.

Suffice it to say, I finished a very large serving and actually had the pizza for leftovers.  A first, for sure…  and it was good enough that something tells me it will happen again.

Recipe…

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{Semi-Spring} Tricolore Salad

NOTES: This salad is easy enough for a weeknight but purty enough for guests.  I can imagine that roasted pinenuts wouldn’t hurt, but I was fresh-out.

As for the dressing, I generally prefer vinaigrettes fairly acidic, not following the traditional 3-1 ratio for more of a 2-1 or even 1-1, but since this is getting acid from both vinegar (syrup – later) and lemon juice, for the first dressing I do use the “proper” and more mild version. Also, since radicchio and endive are a bit bitter, a good bit of honey creates a nice balance.

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

In a small sauce pan, combine balsamic vinegar and 1 teaspoon honey over medium-low heat.  Simmer until the mixture is reduced by half, stirring occasionally and careful not to burn, about 10-15 minutes.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle trimmed asparagus with 1 tablespoon olive oil and top with red pepper flakes; season with salt and pepper.  Mix so asparagus is thoroughly coated and seasoned.

Roast asparagus in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, turning once throughout; asparagus should be just cooked, but still crisp and bright.

While the asparagus is cooking, whiskt together remaining olive oil (2 T.), honey (1 t.) and lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper.  Roughly chop radicchio and endive, and in a medium bowl, mix with lemon dressing.  When asparagus is cooked, transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop as well.  Add to radicchio mix.  Toss together well.

Transfer salad to serving bowl/platter and top with shavings of pecorino romano. Drizzle with balsamic syrup (if it has hardened, reheat on stove or pop in microwave [in microwave safe dish of course] for 10 sec) and enjoy.