Winter salads need to be contemplated quite differently; it’s dark, cold and thoughts of a light green salad to stave off the summer heat are long gone. We need something substantial to bite into with vibrancy, texture and crunch. Radicchio, Celery & Apple Salad with Parmigiano is the ultimate winter salad. Easy to prepare, forgiving, versatile and satisfying – just right as either a side dish or main course.
The ingredient list for Radicchio, Celery, & Apple Salad with Parmigiano is merely a guide to be scaled up or down, easily allowing for ingredient adjustments. I often interchange treviso (a variety of radicchio) for radicchio, or Pink Lady apples for Granny Smith, that’s the beauty of this salad. The important thing to consider is that the produce should be market fresh and thinly sliced to have just the right mouth feel.
The ingredients are layered, dressed and then tossed at the table, revealing the intense colors of the garden. A simple lemon and extra virgin olive oil dressing, with a sprinkling of sea salt & freshly ground black pepper are all that is needed. To gild the lily so to speak, I like to add a drizzle of my favorite honey, to balance the tartness of the apples and radicchio.
Chunks of Parmigiano and a handful of lightly toasted walnut pieces add a nice dimension to the flavor and texture of the dish.
Serve Radicchio, Celery & Apple Salad with Parmigiano as a side dish, light dinner or lunch entree. The salad, with or without the Parmigiano, accompanies a few slices of Prosciutto quite nicely. Use the recipe as a basic guide and put your own stamp on this versatile dish.
- 1 firm head of radicchio, washed, cut into half and thinly sliced
- 1 fresh celery heart (inner portion of the celery) including leaves, thinly sliced
- 1 Granny Smith apple, cut into quarters, core removed and thinly sliced
- ½ cup Italian parsley leaves
- ½ cup irregular Parmigiano chunks
- ½ cup lightly toasted walnut pieces
- ½ fresh lemon, or to taste
- Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Drizzle of good quality organic honey
- Large flake sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Have all of the ingredients assembled along side a serving bowl. Layer the produce starting with the radicchio, followed by the celery and apple.
- Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the apples slices to prevent discoloration and drizzle with just a bit of honey (about 1 tablespoon for the amounts in the recipe).
- Scatter the parsley leaves, Parmigiano chunks, and walnut pieces over the salad, Drizzle with some Extra Virgin olive oil. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- The dish may be prepared up to a hour in advance and refrigerated. At serving toss the salad to reveal the rainbow of colors.
This really is winter in a bowl! It would be very refreshing after one of those stick-to-the-ribs cold weather stews, I imagine. And I happen to have al the ingredients in my fridge at the moment…
It certainly is and your menu suggestion is absolutely perfect. Wonderful when snowbound…
It’s an odd thing to crave a winter salad, but after reading your post, that’s just what I feel like eating. I could see adding some gorgonzola to this too, instead of the parmesan.
I agree, the crunch lends itself to being something wintery. Gorgonzola is one of my absolute favorites and would be incredible in this salad.