The beauty of a warm vinaigrette is that when you pour it judiciously over your favorite salad-greens-of-choice, the warmth of the dressing slightly wilts the greens as it flavors them. The most common green you see used this way is spinach, along with a warm bacon vinaigrette. I decided to mix things up a bit and use raw, thinly sliced Swiss chard as the salad base, along with sliced peppery radishes. The warm vinaigrette is a mixture of cripsy pancetta cubes, sliced garlic, olive oil, a touch of the pancetta grease, and sherry vinegar. Perfectly salty from the pancetta, and perfectly peppery from the sliced radishes.
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Swiss Chard & Radish Salad with Warm Pancetta Dressing
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch of Swiss chard, ends trimmed, stems and leaves thinly sliced (and washed, patted dry*)
- 4 large radishes, thinly sliced
- For the vinaigrette:
- 4 oz. pancetta cubes
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper
- 1 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
Directions:
- Toss the sliced chard and the radishes together in a mixing bowl.
- To make the warm dressing, place the pancetta cubes in a small saute pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 10 minutes or so, until the pancetta is crispy. Drain all but 1 Tablespoon of the grease.
- Remove the cooked pancetta from the pan. Add in the sliced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, the 1 Tablespoon of grease and the 1 Tablespoon of oil. Cook over low heat for 1 minute or until the garlic speaks; add in the cooked pancetta, the vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook an additional 1 minute.
- Taste the warm dressing and season as necessary. Drizzle it over the green and radish mixture.
Tagged: chard, garlic, pancetta, pancetta vinaigrette, radishes, Salad, sherry vinegar, Swiss chard, Swiss chard and radish salad, warm pancetta vinaigrette, wilted spinach salad
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