Shaved salad and a TV Dinner

Living in a warm climate we eat a lot of salads. But as much as I love fresh leafy greens I sometimes crave a crunch and iceberg wedge salads can get a bit old. Besides, an iceberg wedge salad just isn't the same without a big dollop of blue cheese dressing and then it's not healthy anymore....which is really not fair...

I do have a few salad varieties in my arsenal of dinner party recipes but am always on the lookout for more. So when I came across this recipe for shaved cauliflower and radicchio in this month's Bon Appetit, I knew I had to put my knife skills to a test and slice away at crunchy vegetables.


The recipe says you should use a mandolin, but to be honest, I know very few people who have a mandolin- and those who do, hardly ever use it. I certainly don't feel the need to go buy one and I probably spend more time obsessing about kitchen tools than most, filling my counter tops with all sorts of shiny kitchen toys!

So using my sharpest knife, I thinly slice the cauliflower and radicchio. I then peel the celery before that too gets sliced into paper thin slivers and gently mix it all in a big salad bowl with the other ingredients.

I do change it up a bit, and rather then adding the pear for sweetness, I opt for some freshly crumbled feta. The feta is a perfect compliment to the chopped walnuts and takes on a velvety texture when tossed with the salad dressing.

With the salad done and the tuna steaks off the grill ready to go, Hoby and I sit down to a very relaxed dinner in front of the tv. Growing up, this was a big no-no, but every once in a while it's good to break the dinning rules. Besides, I do put a tablecloth down and light some candles. Just because you're eating in front of the tv doesn't mean it can't be nice and romantic.

Shaved Cauliflower and Radicchio Salad

Ingredients

Salad

• 1/2 head of a 1-pound cauliflower, cored, cut into florets
• 1/2 head of a 6-ounce radicchio, cored, quartered lengthwise
• 6 inner celery stalks with leaves
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced chives
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 lemon

Dressing

• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup walnut oil
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 1 ripe Bosc pear( I used Feta cheese instead)
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted if desired

• Ingredient Info:

  Walnut oil is available at some supermarkets, natural and specialty foods stores, and at latourangelle.com.

Preparation

Salad

• Push cauliflower florets, then radicchio, through the feed tube of a food processor fitted with a slicing disk, or thinly slice cauliflower on a mandoline and radicchio with a knife. Mix in a large bowl.
• Peel rounded side of celery with a peeler to remove strings. Remove leaves; add to bowl. Thinly slice stalks with a knife; place in bowl and add chives and parsley. Finely grate zest from whole lemon directly over the bowl to catch any citrus oil. Toss to mix well. Squeeze juice from lemon for dressing.

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/02/shaved-cauliflower-and-radicchio-salad#ixzz1nFvsdjF9