parmesan radicchio salad

last week's post left me reminiscing about wonderful dishes i've had at restaurants that i filed away into my memory in order to recreate at a later date. i was thinking back to our last trip to portland, and remembered a simple, yet delicious salad from tasty n sons. it was a torn radicchio salad, with a few croutons and a heap of parmesan. goodness, i loved that salad. we head back to portland in a few weeks for a bouldering competing david is partaking in. i can't wait to go back to tasty n sons for their to-die-for biscuits and bloody mary menu, but also to see if this salad is still on their menu.

this week at the farmers market, i picked up a few heads of radicchio and went to work recreating the dish. i skipped the croutons, doused whole leaves of raddichio in my favorite basic vinaigrette, piled on the parmesan, and added a few capers. it was messy, dripping with vinaigrette, and parmesan flying off my plate, but it was perfection.

parmesan radicchio salad ~ serves 2

1 small head radicchio

1 tablespoon capers

1/2 cup parmesan

1/4 cup vinaigrette 

tear radicchio or leave them as whole leaves, drizzle with vinaigrette and top with a heavy portion of shaved parmesan and a sprinkling of capers. note: i used a microplane to grate my parmesan, but whatever you use, be sure to buy fresh, real parmesan! 

my favorite vinaigrette ~ serves 6 (ish) 

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

1 teaspoon honey

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

salt & pepper to taste 

small clove garlic, crushed (optional) 

fresh or dried herbs (optional) 

blend together with a whisk. keeps well in a jar on the countertop for a few days. excellent also for dipping raw vegetables or steamed artichoke into as well!