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Bon Appétit

Escarole Caesar With Sardines and Hazelnuts

4.0

(6)

Escarole Caesar salad with sardines and lemon
Photo by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Allie Wist

When looking for a sustainable fish option, go for lower-on-the-food-chain guys like sardines. They’re in their full glory in this umami-packed twist on Caesar.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 servings

Ingredients

½

cup blanched hazelnuts

1

3.75-oz. can sardines, drained

1

garlic clove, finely grated

2

Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1

tsp. Dijon mustard

½

tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more

1½

oz. Piave cheese or Parmesan, divided

½

cup mayonnaise

2

Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

1

large head or 2 small heads of escarole (about 1½ lb.), wilted outer leaves removed, inner leaves torn into large pieces

Lemon wedges (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 325°. Toast hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet until deep golden brown, 12–15 minutes. Let cool, then crush or coarsely chop.

    Step 2

    Open each sardine with the tip of a paring knife, prying the fillets apart. Remove any bones. Finely chop 2 sardines and transfer to a large bowl. Add garlic, lemon juice, mustard, and ½ tsp. pepper and whisk to combine. Finely grate 1 oz. Piave (about two-thirds) into bowl and add mayonnaise and oil; whisk to combine. Season dressing with salt.

    Step 3

    Add escarole and three-fourths of hazelnuts to bowl with dressing and toss well to coat; season with salt and pepper.

    Step 4

    Divide salad among plates, top with remaining hazelnuts. Shave remaining ½ oz. Piave over and break remaining sardines into smaller pieces and scatter on top. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over.

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Reviews (6)

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  • Such a simple and delicious riff on a Cesar salad. It’s basically a pantry meal. I used frisee instead of escarole, since I already had some in my fridge and I served with some grilled bread. I also added some maggi seasoning to the dressing for extra umami. I will add this to my regular rotation.

    • Jodi

    • NYC

    • 7/18/2022

  • Super yummy! It was a bit overdressed so I think I'd use more escarole next time or add the dressing as needed to the escarole, rather than mixing in the same bowl that we made the dressing it.

    • isabellecooks96

    • 5/8/2020

  • This is a great basic salad recipe to riff on! I didn't have sardines or escarole so I used anchovies and romaine for a classic caesar. I found that 1/3 cup of mayo was more than enough for the salad dressing. Great for using homemade croutons if you have some stale bread lying around!

    • Anonymous

    • Worcester,MA

    • 4/4/2020

  • Everything Molly creates is delish!! I love salads and sardines and never thought about combining those 2 in a delicious dish!

    • gutierrezja

    • 4/3/2020

  • This was really good. I didn’t have any hazelnuts so I used walnuts, but I think next time I’ll skip nuts and add croutons for crunch.

    • NYC

    • 4/2/2020