Bon Appétit: Radicchio Salad with Sour Cream Ranch

If you've spent any time reading the recipes on this blog, you'll know that I will randomly grab ingredients that look delicious or interesting or rare or just plain bizarre, and I'll get them home, and then I have to figure out what to do with them.  This is definitely one of those cases.  And the instigator this time is Castelfranco radicchio.  It is so cute!  With its red spots!  And tiny head!  Yes, I'm a sucker, but this was a delicious salad with not many ingredients.  The breadcrumbs are especially yummy.

Note: I added the cherry tomatoes, since they were also cute, and I'm not mad about it.

Radicchio Salad with Sour Cream Ranch
Adapted from Bon Appétit, November 2018 issue

⅓ cup sour cream
⅓ cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar
5 garlic cloves, 1 finely grated, 4 crushed
1 teaspoon honey

2 to 3 tablespoons snipped chives  
8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Kosher salt
2 scallions, thinly sliced
½ cup panko
Zest from ½ lemon
2 medium radicchio, preferably Castelfranco, leaves separated

Mix sour cream, yogurt, vinegar, grated garlic, honey, chives, and 5 tablespoons oil in a small bowl; season dressing with salt.

Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a medium skillet over medium. Add crushed garlic and scallions and cook, stirring often, until golden brown around the edges, about 4 minutes. Add panko and season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Finely grate lemon zest directly into pan and toss a few times to incorporate. Transfer breadcrumbs to paper towels to drain; let cool. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

Place radicchio in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing; toss gently to coat. Season with salt and scatter breadcrumbs over.

Makes 8 servings