Featuring fresh lettuce, bitter radicchio, crisp apples, creamy chèvre, salty pancetta, and sweet walnuts, our Butter Lettuce and Radicchio Salad will brighten all your senses.
There isn't a meal that goes by in our home isn't accompanied with a salad. It's a meal time tradition that Philip grew up with and even when eating out he always orders a salad (que the eyeroll). Whether it's just a simple salad of greens, oil and vinegar, or something a bit more elaborate like a Brussels Sprout Caesar, it's the finishing touch to dinner that extends the meal and ensures we get a few extra veggies.
When it comes to weekends, holidays and hosting, when a little more time goes into preparing our meals, Philip loves to play with different flavours, colours and textures to elevate this humble staple. Staying true to our steps in making a perfect salad, our Butter Lettuce and Radicchio salad starts off with a base of fresh butter lettuce.
Purple radicchio and crisp gala apples provide beauty and crunch to the salad, while candied walnuts, chèvre and pancetta provide some fat and protein, and it's all finished off with a drizzling of garlicy and sweet cider dressing.
How to Make our Butter Lettuce and Radicchio Salad
Ingredients You'll Need
Butter lettuce, radicchio, apples, pancetta, walnuts, chèvre, garlic, maple syrup, dijon, apple cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and pepper.
No. 1 | How to Cook Pancetta
Arrange the pancetta in a frying pan and place on medium-high heat. Cook the pancetta, stirring occasionally until it is slightly crisp and browned.
Chef's Tip: When cooking pancetta, place in a cool pan then turn on the heat. This allows the fat to render out slowly as it comes to heat and results in a crisp-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside texture.
No. 2 | How to Make Maple Candied Walnuts
Using the same pan you cooked the pancetta in, pour in the maple syrup and bring to a boil on medium-high heat for one minute. Add the walnuts and stir to coat and cook an additional two minutes, stirring often. Transfer to a plate and spread out in an even layer to cool.
No. 3 | How to Make Homemade Salad Dressing for our Butter Lettuce and Radicchio Salad
Place the garlic, olive oil, cider vinegar, maple syrup and dijon in a bowl. Whisk vigorously until emulsified into a dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
No. 4 | Assemble the Butter Lettuce and Radicchio Salad
In a large salad bowl, gently toss the lettuce and radicchio with half the dressing. Arrange apples on top and sprinkle with goat cheese, then the walnuts and pancetta. Drizzle with remaining dressing.
Make it Beautiful
Lightly dress the butter lettuce and gently place on a platter. Tuck a few leaves of radicchio in and between the greens then top with a sprinkling of goat cheese, candied nuts and pancetta. Cut your apples into slices and gently arrange around the platter.
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Butter lettuce and Radicchio Salad with Apples, Candied Walnuts and Chévre
Ingredients
- 4 oz pancetta diced
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
Dressing
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- pinch sea salt
- pinch freshly ground pepper
Salad
- 1 head butter lettuce torn into bite-size pieces
- 1 small head radicchio torn into bite-size pieces
- 2 small gala apples cored, halved and thinly sliced
- 4 oz goat cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Arrange pancetta in a frying pan and place on medium-high heat. Sauté for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta is browned and lightly crisp. Transfer the pancetta to a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Discard excess fat.
- Return the pan to medium-high heat pour in 2 tablespoons (30 ml) maple syrup. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, then add the walnuts, and cook another 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Transfer the nuts to a plate and spread out into a single layer. Set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- In a small bowl, add garlic, olive oil, cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons maple syrup, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk until it emulsified and thickened, about 15 seconds.
- In a large salad bowl, gently toss the lettuce and radicchio with half the dressing. Arrange apples on top and sprinkle with goat cheese, then the walnuts and pancetta. Drizzle with remaining dressing.
Nutrition
Hostess says
This salad was both easy and delicious. The presentation was beautiful and perfectly complimented my Italian dinner. Thanks!
Philip + Mystique says
Thanks for the comment! We're thrilled you enjoyed the salad. Sounds like a delicious dinner.