Slightly bitter, slightly sweet, a treat for the eyes and palate.
My husband came back from the market with a head of radicchio rather than the head of purple cabbage on my list. It was a delightful mistake since I really love that colorful and slightly bitter green (is it still a green if it is purple?)
Let’s borrow from the classics
I had a bounty of frisée on hand as well, one of my favorite ingredients! It has a sturdy texture that holds up well to a warm vinaigrette. We’re all familiar with the simple but elegant Salade Lyonnaise, a bed of frisée topped with a warm vinaigrette of bacon lardons and topped with a lightly poached egg.
Make mine mushrooms
I thought it would be delicious to substitute some meaty mushrooms for the bacon and give everything a lemony lift with a fruity olive oil in the background. After prepping the vegetables, the dressing is mixed in the skillet to gently warm.
Quick and easy, and pretty enough for a dinner party
This is really quick to make, everything production line, and can stand alone at a meal if you add that egg on top. If you can’t find these greens, substitute with a sturdy green such as escarole, something with a little sass and character. The greens will wilt a bit, but not much.
Simple, delicious, pretty, and guilt-free as well.
Warm Frisée and Radicchio Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
The Salad:
- 1 head frisée greens
- 1 head purple radicchio
- 10 oz. meaty mushrooms, sliced
The Vinaigrette:
- Zest of one lemon
- Juice of 1 charred lemon
- 2 tbsp. white wine or champagne vinegar
- 4 tbsp. fruity olive oil
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. native honey
- Pinch of sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
The Garnish:
- Charred lemon slices
- A few stalks of asparagus or green beans
- ¼ cup hazelnuts
- A few edible flowers
- Last charred lemon half to squeeze over
Prep the vegetables: Tear the frisée and radicchio leaves into bite-sized pieces. Slice the mushrooms, fairly thick. Zest one lemon and add the zest to a bowl for vinaigrette. Cut the lemon in half. Cut half the other lemon into slices for garnish and leave the other half in-tact to char.
Arrange the greens on a platter, lightly salt, and set aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium high and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Place the mushrooms, flat side down, in the skillet and cook for three or four minutes, until lightly colored. Turn, brown, then remove from the pan.
Add the slices of garnish lemon and the lemon halves, cut-side down to the pan and char them until soft and taking color. If you happen to have your grill fired up, even better! Remove from the pan.
Add the asparagus or green beans and let them color. Set aside.
You should have a nice glaze on the pan at this point. Reduce the heat to medium, add all the vinaigrette ingredients, including the zest, and whisk well to deglaze. Add the mushrooms back to rewarm, correct the seasoning. Top the salad with the mushrooms and drizzle the vinaigrette over, a little or a lot.
Garnish with the lemon slices, hazelnuts, and flowers. Add a final squeeze of the remaining charred half lemon, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
To make a meal: Simply top with poached egg, or other protein!
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This is a wonderful salad dish! Thank you.
Joanna
Thanks Joanna! It really hits the spot.
If you love radicchio, you can also just sauté it for just a moment in a pan with olive oil and onion, then add some white wine vinegar, half a glass of water and half a tablespoon of sugar and let it cook for another two minutes. It will bring out the bitter taste of radicchio while combining it with vinegar and sugar.
Sounds really delicious! I love the bitterness, but some folks, not so much! Thanks for the delicious suggestion!
I have Champagne vinegar in the pantry and have been looking for a vinaigrette recipe. The salad is wonderful and can’t wait to try that vinaigrette!
Thank you Jan! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
A delightful looking salad…
Thanks Carol, it’s definitely a favorite.
😋🤗x
Wow, your ingredients and technique is so different than what I am use to. That is what I like best about your cooking/blog. — Carole
Thank you Carole. I used to be lazy with salad, always tossing the same things on the plate and top with the same vinaigrette. Boredom dictated I think of new ideas, or at least add a touch or two to a classic like this one.
Such a work of art! The plate of salad with the egg is perfect for serving–I appreciate how the color and design of the plate complements/mimics the salad itself. Do you just dream up meals that showcase the dishes? 🙂
You figured me out. Now that you mention it, I’ve been known to buy one plate at a flea market because I thought it would be beautiful to showcase the golden beet salad…
This is such a beautiful and flavorful salad!
Love the addition of hazelnuts and charred lemon. 🙂
Thank you so much Ronit. These little additions really make a lovely bite.
So true! 🙂
💕
Yummy salad and I love the lemon dressing.
Thank you Jovina! It’s so good.
Wow!!! I love everything about this.
It’s a little spin on a classic and I think I’ll always think of using the radicchio here.
Creative and beautiful, as always.
Thank you Judy!
Frisee is my favorite salad green and since I am trying to eat a more plant based diet, the substitution of mushrooms will be made the next time I make a frisee salad.
It’s my absolute favorite too Bernie! Were we separated at birth?
Such a beautiful salad, I love salads with warm dressing, and I’m sure the egg makes it extra yummy…my mouth is watering!
Jenna
Thank you Jenna! I love the warm and cold too, and this one is pleasing on so many levels.
This looks lovely and I would enjoy it, but I would have to eat it all myself! Then again, I just might do that!
Ah! Just save the dressing for multiple drizzles!
Great idea!
Oh Dorothy; you’ve done it again.
It can be quite funny to me how mouth watering your recipes can be – and my eyes get wider as I read and salivate! hahah
I’ve done that too – bought radicchio thinking it was a red cabbage. Now I know – another smile to my face!!!
So much to love in this one. Bitter sweet – yum!
xoxoxo
Thank you Carolyn! It was quite funny when the husband brought the radicchio home, especially since I had looked for some the previous week and couldn’t find it!
This is the first time I’ve seen charred lemon.
It brings out all the sweetness in the lemon, plus a little more delightful bitter, and lends a smoky edge if you use the grill, my favorite!
The smokiness sounds interesting!
We fired up the charcoal grill this weekend and now I’m dreaming of all the delights to come!
Perfection on a Plate. And that egg…..the way the yolk slowly drizzles out practically makes me swoon. 👀🍃
There’s something so satisfying about slicing into that yolk!
Charred lemon? Never have I ever heard of that. Looks beautiful, sounds delicious.
Love charred lemon, and for a change, charred scallions as well!
I love how you made this one after your hubby grabbed a different ingredient than expected from the grocery store – Well done, Dorothy!
It’s not the first time it has happened!
Yum! and Gorgeous!!
My husband loves radicchio, have to try this! Looks delicious.
Thank you! It is a family favorite!
Another gorgeous dish! You can count me among the few who actually did not know about Salade Lyonnaise, but after reading this and knowing how the vinaigrette is made (wasting not one bit of pan flavor), I consider myself a fan of it. Also, I want your husband to make my next grocery run! 🙂
Thanks Terrie! I love this salad a lot!
The husbandb often comes back with a little surprise, most of the time, all is good. However, I sent him to the fish market one day for clams, and he came back with an almost five pound octopus! I had never cooked one before, so I quickly did some on-line research on how to prepare this alien-like creature. There was every possible technique and magic spells that one has to perform apparently, so I followed them all, including placing wine corks in the wine-loaded boiling liquid.
The head is disturbing, and I won’t go into detail, and for this reason alone I probably won’t cook one from beginning again…
However, after all was boiled to tender, I grilled the tentacles and it turned out delicious.
You are a brave, unstoppable woman, Dorothy! If my husband came home with an octopus, I’d make him sleep with it. Hahaha
Rolling on the floor laughing right now! He is lucky I didn’t slap him with the tentacles!
Oh! My! Goodness!! Everything about this salad looks ridiculously yummy. The charred lemon vinaigrette is such an added treat. Your photos alone are making my mouth water. I must try this recipe. Thanks so much Dorothy for sharing.
Thank you! This simple salad is one of my all-time favorites. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
So so pretty Dorothy! And that poached egg 🥚 😋😋
A poached egg makes it a meal!
Absolutely!
What a beautiful and delicious looking salad!
Thank you! It is a lovely combination!
Beautiful salad! I love the addition of the edible flowers! 🙂
Thank you Nancy! Once the flowers start blooming, I put them to work.