New York has been experiencing unseasonal weather lately; not exactly freezing temperatures, but lots of rain and clouds, plus the breeze which always feels cold without some sun hanging around. It's bummed me out! I thought I'd turn to something comforting for dinner last night, but at the same time, something not too laborsome either. I found my dish in the Larder Salads chapter.
94. A Winter Bean Salad - *Larder Salads*
I have to admit that I haven't given this chapter much respek in this project! I'm not a salad type of person. I don't know why, but I find it too annoying to prepare; all that chopping, all those extra ingredients, etc. But the great thing about salads is that they could be made ahead of time, and that a lot of things constitute as a salad. The bean salad I made last night is certainly a different take on my idea of one.
The salad ingredients included one vegetable I have never actually bought, and am not sure I tasted either -- radicchio. I knew what it was though, or at least I have heard of it. I used to watch When Harry Met Sally endlessly as a kid, and it is my favorite movie - now you know how I picked my blog title. I remember at the 'double date-that-never-was' scene that Sally had ordered a 'grilled radicchio'. I thought how fancy she sounded ordering that, and imagined myself at her age doing the same thing.
So the 'radicchio' I attributed to being a very posh type of veggie. And it certainly looked posh to me.
The rest of the salad ingredients are actually pretty standard -- canned cannellini beans, 'good' olives, parsley, thyme or rosemary, and parmesan or pecorino romano. Sounds like a fab combo, no??! Well definitely definitely yes! I had jotted down the ingredients yesterday at work; Rafa had given them to me over Messenger - bad girl, Ilana, I should be working!To accompany the salad, I decided on Nigella's Soft White Dinner Rolls from Feast. I have made these countless times so it was a no-brainer.
I had the dough rising for the second time when I got started on the salad. So, I chopped up a radicchio, after cutting out the core.
Then I chopped some rosemary (it looked better than the thyme at the store) with some flat-leaf parsley.
I chopped up some olives and grated some parmesan. Then, I drained the beans and reserved their 'liquor'. I took half of this reserve and heated it on a low heat with some olive oil and red wine vinegar. To the pan, I added the radicchio, chopped olives, chopped herbs and beans. I tossed it around for a few seconds, and quickly took the pan off the heat. It's a warm salad - but not necessarily cooked. Tom gives the option that if I was to serve it warm, I should incorporate the cheese into the salad rather than serving it on top. And I did just that.
The bread rolls were done baking, and I brought the salad to the table.
It was gorgeous! A really really delicious dish - and if you didn't get that, IT WAS REALLY GOOD! No, seriously, we really enjoyed it. The sauce out of the bean liquor and olive oil and vinegar was perfect - no extra seasoning was needed. The radicchio was soft and warm and blended in perfectly with the beans and herbs. The olives added a sharpness, but were not too obtrusive. The dish was to include capers, and I actually convinced Rafa that he should try them, but just my luck, the store didn't have them.
And the dish was great with rolls too, as there was lots of 'juice' to mop up. Mmmmmm. See, now I'm hungry again!
The recipe serves 4, and I was really hoping there would be some left for me today, but no, we demolished it! Well all the more reason to make it again, which I will! Yum!
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