Holiday Appetizer Salad

Isn't this a pretty salad? Wouldn't it make a pretty starter for a holiday dinner party?

I did not plan on inventing a salad so festive looking and delicious that it would make the perfect holiday appetizer salad; I was simply using up leftovers before my grocery delivery and ended up with this, which I felt truly had greater possibilities in store for it than simply being a solo dinner salad for me. (I did make little tofu croutons (see picture below) for mine to make it more filling as a meal though.)

This recipe serves one person. It is very easy to scale up. And you can omit the candied clementine if you want, though a jar of this in the fridge is a godsend during the holidays.

Handful chopped dandelion greens (or any other bitter green)

Generous handful roughly chopped radicchio

1/2 ripe Hachiya persimmon, diced (apple or pear would taste good here as well if you can't get your hands on persimmons)

1 tsp olive oil

1 Tbsp tarragon leaves (you could also do mint)

2 tsps roughly chopped candied clementine peel, or dried cherries or cranberries

Generous sprinkling of walnuts or pecans

1 Tbsp your favorite salad dressing (I mixed 2 tsps red wine vinegar with 1 Tbsp of walnut oil, 2 tsps Dijon mustard and a splash of cold water)

Heat a heavy pan until it is very hot (I use my cast iron pan for this.)

Add the oil to the pan and tilt so that there is a thin layer of oil on the bottom of the pan.

Add the radicchio. Cook without stirring over medium heat for one minute and then stir to redistribute the leaves. Doing this will help caramelize the leaves.

Cook for a few minutes, until the leaves are burnished and softened, and caramelized in places.

Toss together with the rest of the ingredients and the dressing and serve while still warm.