If you think salads are just for summer, feast your eyes on this winter recipe, Winter Chicories Salad with Persimmons and Avocado. Combine crisp leaves from the chicory family—escarole, frisée, Belgian endive, speckled Castel franco radicchio, and red radicchio in both head and Treviso spear varieties.
Nestled among the greens are chunks of avocado, pomegranate arils, sliced beets, pepitas, and show-stopping orange persimmons. The Fuyu variety, squat and round, can be eaten crisp or soft like an apricot. You may also find Hachiya persimmons, which must ripen to custardy softness to eliminate their astringency. They’re great for scooping with a spoon, though they won’t hold shape in a salad.
This recipe can brighten the coldest day. Assemble it with a mix of leaves from the chicory family. A sweet-savory miso dressing ties the flavors together beautifully.
Check out some more winter greens recipes here!
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Winter Chicories Salad with Persimmons and Avocado
- Yield: Serves 6 to 8 1x
Description
If you think salads are just for summer, feast your eyes on this beautiful toss-up.
Ingredients
For the miso vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup white miso
- ¼ cup fruity vinegar
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp granulated sugar or brown sugar, or more to taste
- ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
For the salad:
- 1 small head frisee, pulled apart into individual tendrils
- 1 small head escarole, leaves torn in large bite-size pieces
- 1 small head Castelfranco radicchio
- 2 to 3 heads green and/or red Belgian endive, some spears, some cross-cut
- 1 small head red radicchio or Treviso radicchio
- 3 Fuyu persimmons, sliced in 6 to 8 wedges each
- 1 to 2 avocados, chunked
- 2 to 3 cooked small beets, sliced thin
- ¼ cup pepitas, or more to taste
Instructions
For the miso vinaigrette:
- Make the vinaigrette, whisking together the ingredients in a small bowl. Taste and add more vinegar or sugar to taste.
For the salad:
- Toss the frisee and escarole with a couple of tablespoons of dressing. Arrange them on a platter or in a large salad bowl with the remaining greens.
- Scatter with persimmons, avocados, beets, and pepitas. Drizzle with more of the dressing and serve.
Recipe and Story by Cheryl Alters Jamison
Photography by Tira Howard
Styling by Keith Recker
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