Persimmon, radicchio and comte salad

April 12, 2017

Persimmon, radicchio and comte salad. William Meppem, Styling: Hannah Meppem

Danielle Alvarez's menus are about celebrating restraint and seasonality. Her menu at Fred’s in Sydney (think of it as a trip to Berkeley via Paddington) is pure San Francisco, thanks to the many years she spent honing her skills at Alice Waters' Chez Panisse. This three-course Easter menu will serve a big group, starting with this salad. Persimmons come into season at this time of year and add a beautiful sweetness. If you can't get a hold of persimmons, pears work well.

Ingredients

For vinaigrette

1 large eschalot, finely diced
100ml red wine vinegar
salt
300ml extra virgin olive oil

For salad

1 head radicchio, roughly torn into pieces
2 white witlof
2 persimmons (or pears)
150g comte cheese
good honey

Method

1. To make the vinaigrette, soak the eschalots in the red wine vinegar with a pinch of salt for at least 30 minutes.
2. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Toss the radicchio and witlof leaves with the dressing and then add in the thinly sliced persimmon.
3. Place this mix in your salad bowl and, using a vegetable peeler, shave the cheese into the salad. Drizzle the whole thing with some honey for a bit of sweetness.
Serve with Danielle's whole boneless duck with fig and hazelnut stuffing, and finish with her brown butter and cardamom pear tart.