Local farmer Bill Coleman specializes in all sorts of exotic herbs and greens, such as curry leaf, epazote, purslane, and fenugreek. When he can, Bill travels to faraway places to source unusual herbs and spices and little-known fruits and vegetables. He carries home the precious seeds and plants them at his farm near Santa Barbara, providing a wonderful source of inspiration for us lucky local chefs. It’s always exciting to see what he will, literally, unearth next. A few years back, Treviso, a beautiful elongated relative of radicchio from the north of Italy, was his plant of the moment. Bill Coleman’s Treviso practically dared me to come up with a dish that would show off its striking magenta leaves and complex, slightly bitter flavor. I paired the Treviso with pungent Gorgonzola and drizzled both with sweet saba, a syrup made by reducing grape must with sugar. This salad-meets-cheese course is the perfect beginning (or ending) to an autumn meal.
Ingredients
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Step 2
Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast about 10 minutes, until they’re golden brown and smell nutty. When the nuts have cooled, break them up with your hands and toss them with 1 teaspoon olive oil and a pinch of salt.
Step 3
Cut the root ends off the Treviso, and remove any tough or damaged outer leaves. Set the delicate center leaves aside, and then stack the larger spears into piles of about six. Cut these lengthwise, into long 1/2-inch-thick ribbons.
Step 4
Place all the Treviso and the sliced shallot in a large bowl. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon juice, a 1/4 teaspoon salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Toss gently and taste for seasoning. Toss in the walnuts and the parsley leaves. Gently transfer the salad to a large platter.
Step 5
Cut the cheese into a 1/4-inch-thick slabs. Tuck the cheese around the salad leaves (some of the slabs will crumble a little; this is fine).
Step 6
Dip the tines of a dinner fork into the saba, and then, with swift, purposeful movements, whip the fork over the salad, leaving thin lines of saba across the white cheese. Top each piece of cheese with a little pinch of cracked black pepper. Serve more saba at the table if you like.
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