Peaches, Poblano vinaigrette, Goat cheese, Pecans
Dalton Jones, Private Chef, Durango, CO
Dalton (@daltycooks) is now a private chef in Durango. Prior to moving to Durango, he was an executive chef in Denver and he also spent nearly three years at Husk in Nashville where he worked as a butcher and sous chef. Before working in restaurants, Dalton was actually working as a paramedic in New Mexico. So besides saving your life, he knows a thing or two about delicious food.
As summer draws to a close and the seasons progress into Autumn, so does the produce. At the interface between the two seasons, we can utilize the last of summer’s bounty and the first of fall’s flavors. Peaches, poblano, and radicchio are the star of this dish. Add a bit of char plus a bit of acid and you can create a dish that hits every flavor profile.
Bitterness is an amazing flavor to embrace. Bitter foods are generally good for the gut, delicious when used correctly, and in the American palate, perhaps the most underutilized flavor. A sweet peach becomes more bitter with char while a bitter radicchio becomes less bitter with char. By cooking our salad ingredients, we can balance the different bitter flavors and create something truly delicious.
This salad is a hearty one, and it best eaten with a fork and knife. If you have trouble finding radicchio, fear not. You can easily substitute endive. It has a similar bitterness, although a bit more tame. If you have trouble finding peaches, then raw pear is a good fruit substitute as well. Enjoy as a starter, or even to accompany you protein of choice!
- Dalton Jones
Yield: 4 salads
Ingredients:
1 radicchio
or substitute endive
4 medium poblanos
1 peach
or substitute pear
1/4 cup goat cheese
2 limes
8 sprigs cilantro
1/4 cup pecan halves
Kosher salt, to taste
3 tablespoons neutral oil
Method:
Cut radicchio lengthwise into quarters, leaving the stalk to keep the pieces intact. Slice peach in half and remove pit. Wash and pick leaves off of the cilantro stalks. Cut limes in half.
Heat cast iron skillet on stove on high heat. Char poblanos on all sides until well blackened. Move poblanos from pan straight into a small bowl and tightly wrap in plastic wrap. Let sit for at least 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the two peach halves, cut side down, into the skillet and cook until blackened. Scrape peaches off with a metal spatula and set aside.
Place radicchio in pan and char both cut sides. This will take around 2 minutes per side.
Finally, toast pecans. A little black char on the pecans is OK. You may have to quickly buff the pan with a dry steel wool in-between charring ingredients.
After the poblanos have been in the bowl for at least 12 minutes, remove the plastic wrap and pull out the stems of the peppers. Peel the poblanos (its ok if some of the skin sticks). Cut them in half and remove the seeds, then dice poblanos and add to your blending apparatus of choice (blender, food processor, or immersion blender). Squeeze limes and add ¾ of the juice to your blender with a large pinch of salt. Blend as fine as possible. Continue to blend while streaming in oil. Adjust oil, lime juice, and salt as necessary. I like to keep this vinaigrette on the tart side.
Slice peaches into thin slices by placing the cut half down, and slicing down (About 10-12 slices per half), and then cut those slices in half down the middle.
To assemble: Place some vinaigrette in the center of the plate. Cut the core from the radicchio, and place it on top with the cut sides facing up. Use a spoon to toss more vinaigrette on top. Tile on 8-10 peach slices, ¼ of the goat cheese in small chunks, and several whole cilantro leaves. Coarsely break up or chop pecans, and sprinkle those on top. I like to fish with a pinch of coarse salt.
Charred Radicchio Salad
Ingredients
- 1 radicchio (or substitute endive)
- 4 medium poblanos
- 1 peach (or substitute pear)
- 1/4 cup goat cheese
- 2 limes
- 8 sprigs cilantro
- 1/4 cup pecan halves
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil
Instructions
- Cut radicchio lengthwise into quarters, leaving the stalk to keep the pieces intact. Slice peach in half and remove pit. Wash and pick leaves off of the cilantro stalks. Cut limes in half.
- Heat cast iron skillet on stove on high heat. Char poblanos on all sides until well blackened. Move poblanos from pan straight into a small bowl and tightly wrap in plastic wrap. Let sit for at least 12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the two peach halves, cut side down, into the skillet and cook until blackened. Scrape peaches off with a metal spatula and set aside.
- Place radicchio in pan and char both cut sides. This will take around 2 minutes per side.
- Finally, toast pecans. A little black char on the pecans is OK. You may have to quickly buff the pan with a dry steel wool in-between charring ingredients.
- After the poblanos have been in the bowl for at least 12 minutes, remove the plastic wrap and pull out the stems of the peppers. Peel the poblanos (its ok if some of the skin sticks). Cut them in half and remove the seeds, then dice poblanos and add to your blending apparatus of choice (blender, food processor, or immersion blender). Squeeze limes and add ¾ of the juice to your blender with a large pinch of salt. Blend as fine as possible. Continue to blend while streaming in oil. Adjust oil, lime juice, and salt as necessary. I like to keep this vinaigrette on the tart side.
- Slice peaches into thin slices by placing the cut half down, and slicing down (About 10-12 slices per half), and then cut those slices in half down the middle.
- To assemble: Place some vinaigrette in the center of the plate. Cut the core from the radicchio, and place it on top with the cut sides facing up. Use a spoon to toss more vinaigrette on top. Tile on 8-10 peach slices, ¼ of the goat cheese in small chunks, and several whole cilantro leaves. Coarsely break up or chop pecans, and sprinkle those on top. I like to fish with a pinch of coarse salt.
Notes
Check out lanyapcookery.com for more chef recipes and on-demand cooking classes!