Radicchio Salad with Maitakes & Blue Cheese
A lighter, vegetarian take on chicken wings with blue cheese sauce. Feel free to substitute leftover roasted chicken or beef for the maitakes. Though these mushrooms are so savory that we recommend giving them a try.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
For the maitakes
1 pound maitake mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
For the blue cheese dressing
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
¼ cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons mayo
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ lemon, juice only
For the salad
1 head radicchio, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced on the bias
¼ cup dill fronds
¼ cup chives, thinly sliced
Extra crumbled blue cheese
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 400°F with the fan on.
Roast the maitakes. Remove any dirty bottoms from the mushrooms and discard. Break the clusters into several bite-sized pieces. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients, except the mushrooms, and whisk together. Add the maitakes, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Transfer to a parchment-lined sheet pan. Roast until deep golden brown and crispy (about 20 minutes). Stir every 10 minutes. Set aside while you finish preparing the other ingredients.
Make the blue cheese dressing. In a mixing bowl, mash the blue cheese with a fork until only small chunks remain. Whisk in the remaining ingredients and season to taste with salt and plenty of black pepper. If the dressing is too thick, whisk in a little more buttermilk, one tablespoon at a time.
Plate. Spread the radicchio and celery over a large plate. Drizzle with blue cheese dressing. Top with maitakes, dill, chives, and crumbled blue cheese. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper.
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