Winter Chicory Salad with Kumquats and Date Dressing

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At Jardinière in San Francisco, chef-owner Traci Des Jardins is constantly looking for dishes with a balance of sweet, acid, and salt. This recipe hits all those notes for a crunchy, salty, sweet, bitter winter salad. A mix of young chicories, like endive, frisée, and radicchio, make for a blast of color welcome during colder months. If kumquats are unavailable, use paper-thin slices of unpeeled clementines.

Winter Chicory Salad with Kumquats and Date Dressing
Photo: Greg DuPree
Total Time:
20 mins
Yield:
6
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Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar

  • 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot

  • 2 cups kumquats, sliced into 1/8-inch rounds, seeds removed, divided

  • 1/2 cup dried pitted dates, thinly sliced, divided

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided

  • 4 Belgian endive leaves, sliced (about 1 cup)

  • 2 cups bright yellow frisée leaves (from 1 large head, use yellow leaves only)

  • 2 cups packed fresh arugula

  • 1 cup packed fresh mizuna

  • 1 cup sliced Treviso or Chioggia radicchio

  • 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

  • 1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, cut into thin strips

  • 1/2 cup toasted salted pistachios

  • 4 ounces aged pecorino Romano cheese, shaved with a Y-shaped vegetable peeler (about 2 cups)

Directions

  1. Whisk together olive oil, sherry vinegar, orange juice, shallot, 1 tablespoon kumquats, and 1 tablespoon dates until blended. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

  2. Place remaining kumquats and dates in a large bowl. Reserve and set aside 6 tablespoons vinaigrette. Drizzle remaining vinaigrette over kumquat mixture, and, using your hands, pull dates apart into individual slices. Add endive, frisée, arugula, mizuna, radicchio, parsley, and mint; gently toss to coat. Season with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

  3. To serve, divide salad evenly among 6 plates; drizzle 1 tablespoon of the reserved vinaigrette over top and around each salad. Garnish with pistachios and shaved pecorino Romano.

Originally appeared: December 2018

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