To borrow the words of my colleague, senior editor Amiel Stanek, “There is literally not a single person on God’s Green Earth that does not like the taste of ranch dressing.” There is no greater truth than this, and I stand by it. It’s creamy. It’s tangy. It can be spiffed up in endless ways: tahini ranch, Gochujang ranch, miso-tofu ranch, yogurt ranch. And, it goes with everything—from hot wings to chicken Milanesa—as a dip and as a dressing. What’s not to love?
Thankfully, Chris Morocco made up a new excuse for us to eat the stuff all winter long with the standing ovation–worthy Radicchio Salad with Sour Cream Ranch, a swoon-worthy trifecta of bitter radicchio, creamy dressing, and crunchy breadcrumbs. It’s easy, it’s satisfying, it’s everything you want when the rest of the produce on the shelf has taken a turn for the worse.
Let’s start with the dressing. It is made up of equal parts whole-milk Greek yogurt and sour cream, along with sherry or apple cider vinegar for tartness, one grated raw garlic clove for some spiciness, a small amount of honey to cut through the garlic, and finally some olive oil to round the whole thing out. It is an exemplar in balanced flavors that honestly deserves to be eaten straight-up with a spoon.
As for the lettuce, Chris recommends Castelfranco radicchio for both its taste and looks. “It tends to be more tender and mild than Chioggia (the round one) or Treviso (the spear-shaped one),” he says. “Plus, everyone has seen red varieties before. The white is more dramatic.” I couldn’t find Castelfranco at my grocery store, so I ended up using all Chiogga. The result was a bit too bitter for me, but Chris recommended subbing in one of the two heads of lettuce for endive, which isn’t quite so biting. And, for what it’s worth, another sturdy lettuce like Romaine or even raw kale would work, too.
The final step is making the breadcrumbs, which offer a textural diversion of the best kind: crunchy! Chris calls for Panko, the Japanese breadcrumbs that are in slightly bigger pieces than those fine Italian-style breadcrumbs. You sauté them in olive oil along with a couple of thinly sliced scallions. “When alliums are caramelized, they have a bit of sweetness in them, too, which helps pull the whole dish together,” Chris says. “It complements the toasty-ness quite nicely.”
So next time you’re planning dinner, leave the sad Mesclun mix at the grocery store, forget your simple lemon vinaigrette, and make this showstopper instead.
