Radicchio, Blood Orange and Fennel Salad with Pickled Beets and Cashew Ricotta

This vibrant salad has been created exclusively for Franklin Lade by Alicja Sieronski and will brighten up any meal.

Radicchio and fennel are robust and stay crispy even after they’ve been tossed with dressing, which makes this salad ideal for make-ahead, meal prep and packed lunches. If you like, you can substitute blood oranges with navel oranges. It’s a beautiful vegan main dish or serve it as a side.

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45 min prep

No cooking required

Serves 4-6

Vegan (V)

Ingredients

PICKLED BEETS

- 1 large or 1 ½ medium beetroot
- 2 ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 ½ tablespoon white vinegar
- 5 tablespoon water
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- ⅓ teaspoon fine salt

CASHEW RICOTTA

- 1 cup raw cashews
- ⅓ cup water
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt black pepper to taste

SALAD

- 3 blood oranges, organic if possible
- 2 heads mixed radicchio
- 1 fennel bulb
- Seeds of half a pomegranate
- 1 watermelon radish, thinly sliced, (regular radishes can work too, if you can’t get watermelon ones)
- ½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
- Handful microgreens such as watercress or seedling broccoli (optional)

DRESSING

- 3 tbsp sherry vinegar or white balsamic
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- Juice of ½-1 blood orange
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. For the pickled beets, peel and thinly slice beetroot, then cut into thin sticks. If you have one, you can use a mandoline for this.

2. Combine the vinegars, water, sugar and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Gently simmer until the sugar and salt have dissolved.

3. Add the sliced beetroot to a small-medium container and pour the brine over them, ensuring the beets are fully covered.

4. Cover the jar or container with a lid and allow it to come to room temperature before transferring to the fridge.

5. The beetroots are ready to eat now, but for the best results, allow them to pickle overnight in the fridge.

6. For the ricotta, let the cashews sit in hot but not boiling water for 5 minutes.

7. Drain the cashews and place all remaining ingredients into a blender or food processor and process until creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides every few minutes. Season to taste.

8. Transfer the mix to an airtight glass container and store in the fridge until ready to serve (this will help the mixture stiffen a bit)

9. For the salad, trim and halve the fennel, then slice very thinly, using a mandoline if you have one, or a sharp knife. Set aside.

10. Wash the oranges in hot water and slice, using a sharp knife. If you can't get organic oranges, peel them first. Set these aside also.

11. Tear the leaves of the radicchio into bite-size pieces. Rinse in cold water and dry, then set aside until ready to assemble the salad.

12. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl, season with salt and pepper and whisk well to emulsify.

13. To assemble the salad, toss radicchio and fennel in half of the dressing then top with the blood orange slices, pomegranate seeds and watermelon radish.

14. Sprinkle the walnuts and microgreens (if using) over the salad before drizzling with the remaining dressing. Serve with cashew ricotta on top.

Bon appétit!