Radicchio Salad with Lemon Oil Dressing
Apr 29, 2021 β’ Updated Jun 20, 2023
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This crisp and refreshing Radicchio Salad with Lemon Oil Dressing is perfect for summer, thanks to fluffy baby gem lettuce, crunchy dukkah and colorful spring radishes.Β
Warmer weather means I’m craving fresh, colorful vegetable-packed salads. And this baby gem and radicchio salad is a perfectly simple, but elegant and totally versatile recipe that’s perfect for summer.
These lettuces are both light and hearty, sweet and bitter. And the bright, zesty lemon oil salad dressing is just the ticket to tie everything together. This is a great recipe to keep on hand to impress guests, bring to a picnic or barbecue. Note: you may want to make extra, as this is the kind of stunning dish that always seems to disappear quickly (even if you’re eating with non-vegans).
How to Prepare Radicchio for Salad
If you haven’t cooked with radicchio before, get ready for a revelation. This hearty red lettuce is a bit bitter, a bit tart, and totally addicting. You can find radicchio in all sorts of different beautiful colors and shapes. The most common is a tight, dark red head of lettuce.
To prepare radicchio for this salad:
- Peel off the outermost layer, which tends to be a bit damaged and is the least clean part of the lettuce.
- Gently tear the inner leaves off of the core and place them in a bowl of very cold water.
- Let the radicchio leaves soak for 5 to 10 minutes to remove any dirt on the lettuce.
- Then drain and dry with a salad spinner or paper towels.
Using Dukkah for Salads
Dukkah is a mixture of spices, seeds, and sometimes nuts. It comes from Egypt and other parts of North Africa and it’s one of my favorite ways to instantly elevate a dish like this baby gem and radicchio salad.
You can buy dukkah, but it’s also so easy to make your own. I use this recipe and it stays fresh for weeks in your spice cabinet.
Then, you can sprinkle crunchy, savory flavor on everything from avocado toast to yogurt.
Other Ways to Cook with Dukkah
Any of these recipes are great vehicles for your homemade dukkah:
- Vegan Cucumber Tempeh Sandwich (gluten free)
- Chickpea”Tuna” Salad Cucumber Stacks (vegan, gluten free)
- Lemon & Herb Crusted Tofu Steaks (vegan, gluten free, oil free)
Other Vegan Salad Topping Ideas
You can easily build this salad up to have more heft, protein, and crunch if you like. You can add your favorite plant protein, such as tofu, tempeh, chickpeas or another bean.
For more color and crunch, feel free to add other springtime vegetables like peas, asparagus, broccoli or beets! I also like to add a sprinkle of microgreens because they’re full of nutrients and always look great on salads!
More Healthy Vegan Salad Recipes
- 15 Minute Caprese Pasta Salad (vegan, gluten free)
- Vegan Chopped Italian Salad (gluten free, refined sugar free, oil free)
- Vegan Artichoke “Tuna” Salad (gluten free, oil free)
Radicchio Salad with Lemon Oil Dressing
Ingredients
- 4-5 baby gem lettuce hearts
- 1/4 small head of radicchio
- handful breakfast radish or other radish of choice
- dukkah to taste
- lemon oil
- fresh lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- optional
- plant protein of choice
- microgreens or sprouts of choice
Instructions
- Quarter or halve your gem lettuce hearts and place in a large mixing bowl. Thinly slice radicchio and radish and add to the bowl.
- Drizzle lemon oil or olive oil and fresh lemon juice to taste and toss to coat. Add dukkah and toss again. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with plant protein of choice and any additional microgreens or sprouts.
Video
@veggiekins Reply to @hoefordogslmao better late than never right πππΌππΌ #veganrecipes #vegan #glutenfree #gfdf #dinnerrecipe #simplerecipe #foodontiktok #fyp
β¬ Chill - RosΓ©Black
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
