Erica De Mane

Recipes:

Escarole Salad with Ricotta Salata, Burst Grape Tomatoes, and Marjoram Vinaigrette
Chicory and Pine Nut Salad with Warm Pancetta-and-Caper Vinaigrette
Endive and Prosciutto Salad with Toasted Almonds and Parsley
Raw Fennel Salad with Anchovy-Tarragon Vinaigrette
Seared Shrimp Salad with Radicchio and Rosemary

When the holidays, with all their glorious, festive food, are over, I sometimes feel a culinary void. Winter can be a dreary stretch in New York. I love stews and root vegetables, but somehow they just bog down my mood after a while. My geraniums droop frozen on my windowsills, and my Mediterranean complexion takes on an olive pallor. I start to crave a touch of delicacy in my meals. I was never exactly sure how to achieve such a thing in midwinter until I zeroed in on what was staring me right in the face whenever I visited my market: a variety of crisp, robust greens, ones with alluring bitterness and a surprising aftertaste of sweetness. That is, the chicories, which I’ve always thought of as winter salad greens: various types of radicchio, escarole, chicory proper, frisée, endive (smooth, curly, and red-tinged), and sometimes punterelle, the long, spiky Italian chicory that I used to see only in Rome. Chicories are often sown in late summer and left to mature in the cool months. In mild climates like California’s and Florida’s, they can be harvested all winter long, so, lucky for us, here they are, elegant and waiting to rejuvenate our winter cooking.

What especially draws me out of my dead-of-winter cooking funk is the chance to marry these raw greens with Mediterranean flavors, creating exciting salads that hit all the right flavor points on my tongue. I stock up on Mediterranean staples such as good anchovies, capers, olives, prosciutto and pancetta, pine nuts, pistachios, Pecorino, mozzarella, and goat cheese, and I invest in a bottle of excellent olive oil, since I’ll be using it raw for dressings. Then I play mix and match until I come up with a few matches that taste bright and even sunny. Here are a few chicory salads that I think came out particularly well. I hope they’ll help brighten your winter.

Escarole Salad with Ricotta Salata, Burst Grape Tomatoes, and Marjoram Vinaigrette

As far as fresh tomatoes go, the only ones worth bothering with in winter are sweet grape or cherry tomatoes. I buy them often to inject a sunny feel into a winter meal.

(Serves 4 as a first course or a light lunch)

1 large head escarole, washed, dried, and cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 pound ricotta salata, crumbled
1 large red shallot, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon Spanish sherry vinegar, or a bit more to taste
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
A few scrapings of nutmeg
4 large sprigs fresh marjoram, the leaves lightly chopped
1 pint sweet grape tomatoes

Place the escarole in a large salad bowl. Scatter on the ricotta salata and the shallot.

Pour the vinegar into a small bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, salt, a few grindings of black pepper, the nutmeg, and the marjoram, and whisk to blend.

In a medium skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. When the skillet is very hot, add the grape tomatoes and season with a little salt and black pepper. Let them sit for about 30 seconds and then shake them around frequently until they start to burst, about 4 minutes (you want them cracked and oozing juice but still keeping their shape).

Add the tomatoes to the salad bowl, leaving behind any skillet oil. Pour on the vinaigrette and toss gently. Divide onto four salad plates and serve right away.

Chicory and Pine Nut Salad with Warm Pancetta-and-Caper Vinaigrette

Chicory works well with a warm vinaigrette, for the heat wilts it, making it more tender.

(Serves 4 as a first course or a light lunch)

1 large head chicory, washed, dried, and cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 approximately 1/8-inch-thick slices pancetta, cut into small dice
1 garlic clove, peeled and lightly crushed
1 teaspoon champagne vinegar or white-wine vinegar, or a bit more to taste
5 thyme sprigs, the leaves lightly chopped
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and dried
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Place the chicory and the pine nuts in a large salad bowl.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add the pancetta and the garlic clove, and sauté until the pancetta is crisp but not at all burnt, about 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the vinegar, the thyme, and the capers. Add a bit of salt and a few grindings of black pepper. Swish the skillet around briefly to blend all the flavors. Taste for a good balance of oil to vinegar, adjusting if necessary. Remove the garlic and pour the vinaigrette over the salad, tossing gently. Serve right away.

Endive and Prosciutto Salad with Toasted Almonds and Parsley

The sweet and bitter taste of endive and the sweet and salty tang of good prosciutto make for a wonderful melding of flavors on the tongue.

(Serves 4 as a first course or a light lunch)

3 medium endives, separated into leaves
1 bunch arugula
5 very thin slices prosciutto di Parma or San Danielle, trimmed of excess fat and cut into thin strips
1/2 cup whole, blanched almonds, lightly toasted
1 small red shallot, thinly sliced
A handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, left whole
1 teaspoon Spanish sherry vinegar, or a little more to taste
1/2 teaspoon mustard
A few scrapings of nutmeg
A pinch of sugar
A pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Place the endive, arugula, prosciutto, almonds, shallot, and parsley in a large salad bowl.

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, mustard, nutmeg, sugar, salt, and a few grindings of black pepper. Whisk briefly to blend, and then add the olive oil, whisking again. Pour over the salad and toss gently. Serve right away.

Raw Fennel Salad with Anchovy-Tarragon Vinaigrette

This is a variation on a salad I once ate in Rome made with punterelle, their famous winter chicory. Punterelle is available here occasionally but not reliably, so I’ve substituted frisée. I’ve also added tarragon, which blends very nicely with fennel.

(Serves 4 as a first course or a light lunch)

3 small fennel bulbs, trimmed and cut into thin slices
1 small head frisée, cut into bite-size pieces
1 garlic clove, peeled and lightly crushed
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 oil-packed anchovy fillets, minced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 large sprigs tarragon, lightly chopped
A pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Place the fennel and frisée in a large salad bowl. In a small bowl combine the garlic, lemon juice, and anchovy, and whisk briefly to blend. Add the olive oil, tarragon, salt, and black pepper, and whisk again briefly. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss. Serve right away.

Seared Shrimp Salad with Radicchio and Rosemary

Radicchio goes well with various types of seafood. I often use it as a bed for fish fillets I’m going bake. Its bitterness permeates the fish in an interesting way. It works well with shrimp, especially if you add a deep, earthy element like rosemary that can stand up to the radicchio.

(Serves 4 as a first course or a light lunch)

1 medium head round radicchio, thinly sliced
1 medium head frisée, cut into bite-size pieces
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 small sprigs rosemary, chopped
A pinch of cayenne or Aleppo pepper
Zest of 1 small lemon

Place the radicchio, frisée, and red onion in a large salad bowl.

In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper.

In a medium bowl, combine the shrimp, rosemary, cayenne or Aleppo pepper, and lemon zest. Season with salt, and drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil. Toss gently to blend all the flavors.

In a large skillet, get another tablespoon of olive oil good and hot over a high flame. Add the shrimp, spreading them out in one layer, more or less. Sear, without moving the shrimp around, until they’re nice and pink on the underside, about 2 minutes. Turn them and sear the other side, about 1 minute or so longer, depending on their size. They should be just cooked through and tender.

Add the shrimp to the salad bowl, pour on the vinaigrette, and toss gently. Serve right away.