winter citrus and radicchio salad with bacon fat vinaigrette

~a loose method~

what you need

for the salad

head of radicchio, lots of varieties to choose from, can’t go wrong or use a mix!

3-4 citrus of choice, grapefruit, orange, and blood orange work best

~5 slices of thick cut bacon, crumbled

parsley, finely chopped

for the dressing

small shallot, finely chopped

~2 tbsp red wine vinegar

spoonful of whole grain mustard

kosher salt

freshly cracked black bepper

reserved bacon fat (about 3 tbsp)

olive oil

what you do

fry bacon until cooked and crispy, then allow leftover bacon fat to come to room temperature on the stove. core the radicchio and then tear the leaves into large pieces. set aside. use a sharp pairing knife to cut the rind off the citrus, and then slice about half the citruses into wheels (making sure to remove any seeds) and supreme the other half. set aside.

to make the dressing, combine shallots, red wine vinegar, a pinch of salt and crack of black pepper. allow to sit for a minute or so while you prepare the other ingredients. Mix in whole grain mustard, then, while stirring constantly, drizzle in room temperature bacon fat. Add in another 3-4 tbsp of good olive oil while mixing constantly. Dressing should nicely emulsify as you add in the fat while mixing. Taste and season with additional salt/pepper, or more acid if needed.

to assemble the salad, toss the radicchio with vinaigrette until well coated. I like to serve this salad on a flat plate, placing the radicchio on the first layer, and then tucking the citrus wheels and supreme slices throughout. Drizzle more dressing over top, then sprinkle with crumbled bacon and parsley.