Copycat Radicchio Salad (Inspired by Tasty N Alder)

If you've been reading my posts on Portland, you should know that it would only be a matter of time before I made this. The Missus loved the Radicchio Salad at Tasty N Alder so much, we went twice. The Missus wanted to go on our last morning as well, but they opened a bit too late so we ended up somewhere else. I knew that Chef John Gorham, has a cookbook out named after his Spanish inspired restaurant; Toro Bravo. Taking a quick look at the Amazon page for the book; I quickly saw "Radicchio Salad" in the index....so guess what? I bought the book. The recipe for the salad at Toro Bravo is different from what is served at Tasty N Alder. The book version is dressed with a vinaigrette....though I like the idea of macerating onion in the vinegar for added punch. I'll surely use that idea later on. It also uses a tapenade and is served with baguette. The version at TNA is dressed with mayo with slices of bacon; they call it lardons, but it's a pretty wide slice of bacon. All was not lost however, as there were two take-aways from the recipe in the book; using a microplane to grate the manchego cheese, which makes it light as air and which allows the cheese to incorporate itself into the dressing adding another layer of flavor. The second, soaking the radicchio in ice water to remove some of the bitterness. This was key. The Missus had never taken to radicchio because of its bitterness. In addition, I decided to make my own mayonnaise, a light, whole egg version.....which I call my "three minute mayo".....like it says, it takes about three minutes to make and is very light and creamy. I also mixed in 3 tablespoons of rendered bacon fat for that extra kick. I'm thinking you can add some anchovy, or some extra acid component if desired. The Missus enjoys this version.

So here's what I made......four times in ten days!

This is what we had twice at Tasty N Alder.

Radicchio Salad (Inspired by Tasy N Alder):

3 slices thick cut bacon

1/4 Cup Mayonnaise (I make my own very light version with whole eggs)

3-4 Tb Rendered Bacon Fat

1 tsp Agave Syrup Salt and Pepper to Taste

1 Radicchio (about 3/4 pound)

1 cup Manchego Cheese grated with a microplane

2 boiled eggs crumbled (optional)

- Cut radicchio into four and remove core portion. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Separate leaves and soak in ice water for 30 minutes

- Slice bacon into 1/2" wide slices. Cook slowly to render off bacon fat and let bacon crisp. Let bacon fat cool but not harden

- Combine mayonnaise, bacon fat, agave syrup. Taste and add salt a pepper as necessary. Chill.

- Drain radicchio and spin dry in a salad spinner. It's important to get the radicchio faily dry. This will let the dressing coat it evenly.

- Grate machego cheese, crumble boiled eggs

- Combine radicchio with dressing, coat evenly

- Top with bacon and grated manchego cheese

- Bring to the table and mix well.

Comments

[kat]

manchego isn't too easy to get here, but I'm gonna try this with another cheese:) thanks for the recipe Kirk!

[Jason]

Nice! Now the misses can have it for breakfast, just like in Portland!

[Kirk]

Let me know how it turns out Kat!

Yep, she sure can Jason!

[SomTommy]

I'm more interested in that Mayo recipe. 3 minutes?

[Kirk]

Really....ST, you want the mayo recipe, huh?

[caninecologne]

The salad looks great! I need a microplaner now, haha.

[Kirk]

Hey CC - This is the one I use. It works much better than one which cost over twice as much:

http://www.amazon.com/Microplane-40001-Stainless-Steel-Zester/dp/B00004S7V7/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1426129584&sr=1-1&keywords=microplane+40001+stainless+steel+zester

Works real well. Have fun!

[RR]

This looks amazing! We were just at Tasty n Alder tonight (for the second time) and (for the second time) had this addictive salad. This time I picked the waiter's brain. I'm sure he didn't tell me everything but he did tell me the dressing is made with safflower oil, avacado, tarragon and heavy cream. Good to know! He also said the "6 min boiled egg" is key and told me to "Google it". Haha
I can't wait to try this at home with your recipe and the few tips the waiter gave!
OH and he said the 30 min ice water bath on the radicchio was key for cutting the bitterness.
Cheers!

[Kirk]

We were back in PDX recently RR...and man, that salad is great. Have fun with your salad adventures and thanks for commenting!

[Shan]

Any new ingredients or tweaks? Going to try soon!

[Kirk]

Other than making my own "smoked mayo", this is how I serve it. Good luck Shan!

[Diane]

I at first thought this combo sounded weird. I ordered it as TNA in Portland. OMG one of the best meals I ever have eaten! I'm making today, to test this recipe for thanksgiving. I'll get back to you.

[Kirk]

It is very good isn't it Diane? Hope this turns out well for you!