Pink Radicchio, Puntarelle, Blood Orange & Sweet Lemon Salad
I have since discovered, that the beautiful pink leaves I believed to simply be some kind of obscure, pink lettuce of some kind, was indeed what is known as "Rosa del Veneto" and is a variety of radicchio... so it is no wonder that I enjoyed it so much!
Slightly bitter, but not quite as much as radicchio or endives, but much lighter and crisper, this was a wonderful discovery and great in combination with the other lovely ingredients tonight...
My beloved "puntarelle", spectacular, Sicilian blood oranges and THE most amazing, Israeli sweet lemons- what a combination! And how could I do anything other than turn them into a beautiful and refreshing Winter salad?
1 head of pink radicchio or lettuce, 1 small head of puntarelle, 1 blood orange, 1 sweet lemon, a little hot mustard, olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano... and faster than fast could be, I had a beautiful salad, easily enough for 4 servings and so easy to make! I liked it! And you and your guests will too!
With every bit as much flavor as it has color, this is a super-healthy and refreshing salad which will liven up any Winter spread- so get out there and make the most of that produce whilst it is in season and you have the chance!
Wash the greens (and pinks!) and spin them dry, then slice up the "pods" of the puntarelle as thinly as you can manage.
Cut the orange and lemon in half and squeeze half of each to make the dressing, then peel the other half and cut out the individual segments to use in the salad.
Add 1 tablespoon of hot mustard, 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper and a good pinch of oregano to the juice and blend together well to make the dressing.
Cut the segments out of the orange and lemon and set them to one side, ready to add to the salad.
Simply lay out the pink leaves first, nice and decoratively around your serving dish and then lay out the puntarelle slices and leaves on top. Scatter the orange and lemon pieces evenly on top and drizzle generously with the dressing, before adding a good extra sprinkle of dried oregano... delicious!
There's a whole lot of flavor going on right there- all bitter-sweet and delicious!
It's almost as pretty as a picture- your right... but it's not a picture- so just grab yourselves knives and forks and enjoy!
Brighten up your Winter mealtimes!
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