Arugula, Radicchio and Rainbow Carrot Salad

How is January going? The last major winter storm missed us, thankfully.  We are chilly here but have no snow on the ground! My husband was even able to play golf twice earlier this month when the temps were in the mid to upper 40s. (Yes, a die-hard golfer!)    

After the splurges of the holidays and chill of winter, we have found ourselves gravitating toward warming soups and hearty salads for dinner and today, I'm sharing a recipe that was on our gourmet group menu in December.  I had been waiting for the radish sprouts I started from seed on January 1st to be ready to harvest so I could use them in this salad.  

They grew so quickly!  Within a few days the seeds had sprouted through the soil and within less than two weeks they were ready to harvest.  

This is quite a hearty salad, with the addition of burrata cheese and toasted almonds.  With fiber, carbs and protein, you could even eat this for a light meal which is exactly what we did last night. If you're not familiar with burrata cheese, it's a type of mozzarella with a soft, creamy center with a buttery flavor.  So delicious!  It's sold in the section of your grocery store where you would also find fresh mozzarella (the kind sold in tubs, floating in water).  Fresh mozzarella is a good substitute if you can't fin burrata cheese.  

The dressing is a delightful combination of rice vinegar, lemon juice, honey and cumin which gives the dressing an earthy flavor that compliments the salad perfectly.

Just look at all of those beautiful colors!  The bright radicchio and pomegranate seeds with the purple-orange shaved carrot and bright green radish sprouts make a beautiful presentation.  If you can't get radish sprouts, use some fresh herbs such as parsley or basil.  I'm not a fan of all-radicchio salads so I mixed in one of my favorite greens, arugula.  I also added some finely shaved fennel which is my new favorite addition to salads.

Enjoy! 

Arugula, Radicchio and Rainbow Carrot Salad 

Printable Recipe

SERVES 2-4   

Dressing:

½ teaspoon lemon zest 

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds, ground, or ground cumin

2 teaspoons honey

1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Salad:

2 cups arugula, washed and dried

2 cups torn radicchio leaves, washed and dried

1 large rainbow carrot (purple preferred), thinly shaved with a vegetable peeler

1/4 cup finely shaved fresh fennel

2 tablespoons assorted chopped fresh herbs such as radish sprouts, parsley, or basil

1 small ball of burrata cheese (preferred) or mini fresh mozzarella balls

1⁄4 cup pomegranate seeds

1⁄4 cup roasted slivered almonds

Roast slivered almonds in a 350F oven for about 6 minutes, until golden brown.  Allow to cool before using.  

To make the dressing, combine the lemon zest, vinegar, lemon juice, cumin, and honey. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the salad, combine the arugula, radicchio leaves, carrots, shaved fennel and sprouts or herbs in a chilled bowl or platter and toss with 3 tablespoons of the dressing.

Top with small spoonfuls of burrata (or fresh mozzarella), pomegranate seeds, and the almonds. Drizzle with a bit more dressing to taste, freshly ground pepper and serve immediately.

Adapted from Saveur

Cranberry, Almond and Roasted Carrot Salad

If you're still thinking about ideas for your holiday dinner, I have a unique and delicious salad to share!  This past weekend, my husband and I enjoyed dinner with a group of good friends (our gourmet dinner group) and we were assigned this salad by our hosts.  Never would I have guessed how wonderful it would taste when I first read through the recipe.

The orange juice infused dried cranberries, toasted Marcona almonds, semi-hard goat cheese and honey-roasted carrots on tangy arugula tossed with a sherry vinaigrette was amazing!  So much so, that my husband requested that we have this salad again the following night!

I was able to find a package of three different Spanish cheeses at Costco which included Manchego, Tipsy Goat and Iberico cheese. The Tipsy Goat was perfect.  The next evening, I used the Manchego which is a sheep's/goat milk combination and it was also very good.

If you are familiar with Ina Garten's book Cooking for Jeffrey, you may already know this salad as her Maple Roasted Carrot Salad.  I made only a slight change to the vinaigrette and in the preparation.

The Christmas shopping is done, the tree is decorated, the presents are wrapped and Christmas cards addressed and sent.  So far, I've made Gingerbread from my recipe found here and hope to make more cookies this week that I'll share if time permits!

Wishing all of you a stress-free week before Christmas!

Cranberry, Almond and Roasted Carrot Salad

Printable Recipe

Serves 6

2 pounds thin organic carrots with fresh green tops

Extra Virgin Olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup Grade A maple syrup

2/3 cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (1-2 oranges)

3 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced 

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon of honey 

2 5-ounce boxes of baby arugula

6 ounces semi-hard goat cheese, such as tipsy Goat, Manchego (or feta)

2/3 cup roasted, salted Marcona almonds (Marcona almonds can be found at Costco)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

While the oven is preheating, combine the cranberries and orange juice in a small saucepan and bring to a soft boil, then set aside to cool. Cranberries and juice can be placed in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated until dinner. 

Cheese can be diced and placed in a covered bowl in the refrigerator until ready to toss the salad. 

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, garlic, salt and honey. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Trim and scrub the carrots (peel if they are bagged carrots). Cut the carrots in large diagonal slices as they shrink while roasting. Try to make all the slices as even as possible. Transfer to a large bowl with ¼ cup of olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Toss well and transfer to 2 baking sheet pans allowing plenty of room for roasting.  Roast for 15-20 minutes, tossing once, until the carrots are tender.

Transfer all the carrots to one of the sheet pans, add the maple syrup.  Toss and then roast for about 10 minutes or so, until caramelized turning once.  Please watch carefully as the maple syrup can burn if left in the oven too long. Set aside for about 5-10 minutes to cool slightly. At this point you may allow them to cool completely and cover with a sheet of aluminum foil until you are close to serving the salad.  Then, add the maple syrup and roast in a pre-heated 425 degree oven until caramelized.

Place the arugula in a large bowl and add the carrots, cranberries (along with the orange juice), goat cheese, almonds, and the vinaigrette. Toss with large spoons, sprinkle lightly with salt, and serve. 

Adapted from Ina Garten's, Cooking for Jeffrey.