Fall Salad: a Bittersweet Surrender

“A well-made salad must have a certain uniformity; it should make perfect sense for those ingredients to share a bowl.” – Yotam Ottolenghi

OK maybe it’s time to let summer go.  Yes, I know it’s almost the holidays, but I’ve been a bit world weary and mentally clinging to more carefree days.   Since I’m on a news fast (ahem!) and I’m majorly cocooning, I’m going to plunge in deep now with all the flavors I can summon for this harmonious seasonal salad. 

Red tinged bitter greens, gorgeous striped beets, vivid orange persimmons, crunchy pomegranates, toasty hazelnuts and a savory shaved cheese are unified by a sharp and slightly sweet seasonal vinaigrette. 

If I’m an escapist – FINE.  Losing myself in this dish seems like a good use of my soul right now.    

Serves 8

Salad:

• 3 medium striped beets – Chioggia or orange, roasted and sliced into thin sections
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts – toasted, rubbed and roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup red pomegranate seeds  
• 2 Fuyu persimmons, halved and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup aged Gouda – shaved with a vegetable peeler
• 1 Treviso endive (red) – halved, cored and sliced crosswise into 1″ pieces
• 1 head Castelfranco radicchio, or red radicchio
• 1 bunch frisee lettuce
• 1 head red butter lettuce

Dressing:

• 1 tablespoon zest of Buddhas Hand citrus or Meyer lemon
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh horseradish root (or more to taste)
• 1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds, crushed in a mortar and pestle
• 1 tablespoon Meyer or plain lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup
• ¼ cup persimmon vinegar such as Flamingo Estate Winter Harvest
• ¾ cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Beets – No need to peel before cooking.  Lay on a large sheet of foil, add a couple of tablespoons of water and wrap loosely, but make sure the seams are completely sealed.  Place on a baking dish and roast for 40-60 minutes, depending on the size of the beets.  They should be fork tender when cooked.  Cool, leaving skins on until you are ready to slice.  Skins should slip off easily under running water. 

Hazelnuts – Spread on a dishpan and bake in a 400-degree oven for about 8-10 minutes until hot and starting to brown.  Wrap nuts into a clean textured dishtowel and rub fairly vigorously until the skins are loosened and removed.   Discard skins. 

Pomegranate – Pre-seeded grocery store pomegranates are often mushy, tasteless and starting to ferment. Sad. Seeding a pomegranate is really not that hard and you’ll get such better fruit!  Fill a bowl with enough cold water to submerge the fruit.  Score the skin, submerge the fruit and open the fruit into sections. Gently remove the seeds from the pith and give them all a gentle swirl.  Skim the pith that floats to the top, strain the seeds and remove any pith stragglers.

Lettuce – Wash, dry and gently tear or cut the lettuces small enough that you don’t need a knife to eat the salad, but large enough that you can admire the variegation of all the pretty leaves. 

Dressing – I like to put everything in a mini food processor and give it a whirl but you can also add it all to a mason jar and shake well. Dress and toss the lettuces just before you are ready to serve the salad and sprinkle the beets, persimmons, cheese, and hazelnuts on top.

ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS:

• All About Persimmons and Persimmon Varieties
• Pomegranates: Rich In History and Taste
• Buddha’s Hand
• What is Horseradish?