Celery Root Radicchio Salad with Warm Date Dressing & Pistachios

Created by Laura Wright
5 from 5 votes
My celery root radicchio salad features a tangy, sweet, and smoky warm date dressing. Crunchy salted pistachios mingle with the bitter radicchio, fresh celery root, and peppery parsley. The perfect side salad for a rich holiday spread.
An overhead shot shows a platter with a celery root and radicchio salad topped with warm date dressing, chopped parsley, and chopped pistachios. Wood salad tongs are sticking out of the salad.

Ready within 35 minutes, this celery root radicchio salad is the perfect fall and winter salad to serve alongside a rich dinner. It’s made with flavourful, seasonally-appropriate ingredients, like julienned celery root, chopped radicchio, peppery parsley, and a tangy-smoky warm date dressing. A quick simmer on the stove for the dressing and some light chopping is all the effort needed here. Filled with fresh, bitter, sweet, smoky, and tangy flavours, lots of vegetables, plus some crunch from finely chopped pistachios, this easy, composed salad is ideal for a cozy evening meal.

An up close, overhead shot shows a platter with a celery root and radicchio salad topped with warm date dressing, chopped parsley, and chopped pistachios. Wood salad tongs are sticking out of the salad.
An overhead shot shows ingredients for a celery root radicchio salad with warm date dressing.
An overhead shot shows sliced shallots sizzling in olive oil in a saucepan.

I have never been a person that seeks to temper radicchio’s bitterness. I embrace it! Lovers of bitter flavours contrasted with sweet, salty, and fresh will be fans of this radicchio salad recipe. The chopped jewel-like purple leaves with the lightly dressed celery root, fudgy bits of softened dates, sautéed shallots, a bit of smokiness and spice, the tang of balsamic vinegar, and a finishing touch of chopped salted pistachios.. it’s a beautiful contrast of flavours. This salad was made for a cold and cozy evening.

I love to treat hardy cold weather veg with a warm dressing sometimes, and it’s very simple to do. With this recipe, you sauté shallots until soft, add spices, grainy mustard, chopped dates, and balsamic vinegar. You bring it to a boil and then pop a lid on the saucepan to keep it warm. The dates become soft and fudgy and the warm bits of them with spices and tangy, good quality balsamic is just heaven with the bitter leaves.

More radicchio recipes:

And if you’ve never tried celery root before, you’re in for a treat. It’s a gnarly root veg that tastes like a cross between celery and potato. When you julienne it nice and thin and serve it raw in a salad like this, it is so refreshing.

I do have to say: this salad would be so nice amongst a rich holiday meal spread. I hope that you get a chance to try it soon :)

An overhead shot shows a hand spooning a warm date dressing on top of chopped radicchio leaves on a platter.
An overhead shot shows a platter with a celery root and radicchio salad topped with warm date dressing, chopped parsley, and chopped pistachios. Wood salad tongs are sticking out of the salad.
An overhead shot shows a platter with a celery root and radicchio salad topped with warm date dressing, chopped parsley, and chopped pistachios. Wood salad tongs are sticking out of the salad.

Celery Root Radicchio Salad with Warm Date Dressing & Pistachios

My celery root radicchio salad features a tangy, sweet, and smoky warm date dressing. Crunchy salted pistachios mingle with the bitter radicchio, fresh celery root, and peppery parsley. Perfect side salad for a rich holiday spread.
5 from 5 votes
An up close, overhead shot shows a platter with a celery root and radicchio salad topped with warm date dressing, chopped parsley, and chopped pistachios. Wood salad tongs are sticking out of the salad.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

Warm Date Dressing

  • cup olive oil
  • 1 medium shallot, sliced
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
  • 1 ½ teaspoons grainy mustard
  • cup chopped Medjool dates (about 4-5 dates)
  • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Celery Root Radicchio Salad

  • 1 small head celery root (290 grams), peeled and julienned
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 heads radicchio (550 grams), cored and chopped
  • ¼ cup flat parsley leaves, chopped
  • ¼ cup salted shelled pistachios, finely chopped finely chopped

Notes

  • It’s important to plate this on a platter that’s large enough to accommodate a single layer of the radicchio. You really want to get the dressing on as much of the leaves, as evenly as possible.
  • Chopped toasted and salted pumpkin seeds are a great nut-free substitution for pistachios.

Instructions

  • Make the dressing. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the sliced shallots and swirl them around. You want them to cook on a low simmer for about 5 minutes, until soft but not browned at all.
  • Add the smoked paprika and red pepper flakes and swirl the oil again. Add the grainy mustard, chopped dates, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Bring this mixture up to a boil for about a minute, breaking up the chunks of dates with a spatula. After a minute, place a lid on top of the saucepan and turn off the heat, keeping the dressing warm.
  • In a medium bowl, toss the julienned celery root with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
  • Arrange the chopped radicchio in a single layer on a large serving platter. Spoon the warm dressing evenly over the radicchio. You may have to break up the fudgy bits of dates to distribute it as evenly as possible. Season with salt and pepper. Scatter the dressed celery root on top.
  • Garnish the salad with the chopped pistachios and parsley. Serve immediately.
20/10/2023
Posted in: autumn, bitter, gluten free, grain-free, holidays, quick, refined sugar-free, salad, salty, side dish, smoky, sour, sweet, vegan, winter

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5 from 5 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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