Via Carota's Green Salad

Piles of various lettuces, frisee, and endive dressed with salad dressing on a plate set over a woven placemat.

5 from 1 vote

This delicious green salad is a faithful adaptation of Via Carota's Insalata Verde, featuring a glorious mountain of lettuces, frisee, and endive dressed with a sherry-shallot vinaigrette.

Prep Time35

Total Time35

Servings: servings

Calories: 217kcal

Author: Karishma Pradhan

Equipment

Salad Spinner optional, but recommended

Ingredients

Dressing:

1 clove shallot very finely chopped
1 small clove garlic grated or very finely minced
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon Diamond-Crystal Kosher Salt or ¼ teaspoon salt if using any other type of salt
2 tablespoons aged sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard optional
1 teaspoon warm water
3 sprigs fresh thyme stripped
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
Black pepper

Salad:

1 head butter lettuce such as Bibb or Boston lettuce, about 3 - 4 ounces
1 head baby romaine about 6 ounces, or a regular romaine heart or little Gem lettuce
½ small head frisée about 2 ounces, see notes
3 spears Belgian endive
A small handful of watercress or peppercress or arugula, about ½ ounce
Salt and black pepper

Instructions

Prepare the Dressing:

In a small jar with a lid, combine 1 clove shallot (very finely chopped), 1 small clove garlic (grated), ½ teaspoon granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon Diamond-Crystal Kosher Salt, 2 tablespoons aged sherry vinegar, 1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard (if using), 1 teaspoon warm water, and the stripped leaves from 3 sprigs fresh thyme. Seal and shake until well combined.
Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil to the jar, seal again, and shake vigorously for 30 seconds until emulsified. Repeat with the remaining 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper.
Set aside and allow the dressing to marinate as you prepare the rest of the salad.
Note: The dressing should taste very well-balanced and not too vinegary. With this salad, especially, we want to ensure the delicate flavors of the lettuces are not overpowered by the dressing. To test this, you can dip a piece of lettuce into the dressing to see how it tastes.

Make the Salad:

Wash the lettuces: Remove any wilted, bruised, or floppy leaves from 1 head butter lettuce. Cut off the stem, then separate the leaves. Repeat the same process with 1 head baby romaine. Cut ½ small head frisée into bite-sized pieces.
Transfer all of the greens to a large salad spinner. Rinse the leaves with very cold water, then spin until dry, dumping out the collected water a couple of times as needed.
Lay out the greens in an even layer on a clean, lint-free kitchen towel. Place another kitchen towel on top, then roll everything up.
Cut off the stems of 3 spears Belgian endive then separate into individual leaves. Quickly wash the endive and A small handful of watercress in cold water, then dab with a kitchen towel to dry.
Assemble: Arrange a variety of the vegetables in a single layer in the bowl. Season with salt and black pepper, then drizzle with some of the dressing. Each leaf should have a bit of dressing, but it should not be drenched. Don’t worry about perfection; focus on lightly seasoning each layer.
Repeat, arranging another layer of vegetables on top of the previous layer, at least 3 - 4 times, until you have a gorgeous, tall mound of salad. Finish with a bit more dressing to ensure the greens are evenly dressed. You may not need all of it; I typically use about half to two-thirds of the dressing.
Serve immediately, and enjoy!
Note: The dressing will naturally separate over time, so just give it a shake before topping the greens.

Notes

Recipe adapted from the Via Carota cookbook.

Salad Spinner: I highly recommend using a salad spinner to keep the leaves crisp, but you can also use a colander. Just give them a bit more time to dry in the kitchen towel if doing so.

Washing: Lettuces from farms tend to be quite dirty; if this is the case, wash them first in tepid water in the salad spinner. Then, do a second wash with cold water. You may need to do a few cold washes to get them clean.

Ingredient Tips:

Mustard: The original cookbook recipe does not call for mustard, but the NYTimes version does, and I believe that's the version I had at the restaurant. If you have it, I suggest adding it in.
Frisée: The recipe originally calls for just a few leaves of frisée, so to minimize waste I adjusted it up to a half head. This will cause the salad to lean a bit more bitter, so if you don't love bitterness, just omit!
Watercress: Arugula or baby spinach can be used as a substitute.
Lettuces: For a more complex, bitter profile, swap some of the romaine with radicchio.

Leftover dressing can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature and shake again to re-emulsify if needed.

Nutrition