Serve this salad for jaded winter palates when the delicate bitter lettuces are at their best. Try and track down the Castelfranco variety (pictured) if you can – it’s speckled with pink and has a less intense flavour than purple radicchio. But any bitter lettuce will do the job nicely.
2 small heads of bitter lettuce (such as radicchio, castelfranco or chicory)
75ml buttermilk
Juice of ½ a lemon
2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
Small bunch of chives, finely snipped
50g hazelnuts, toasted & roughly chopped
Pure Sea Salt
Black pepper
Wash and dry the lettuce well and place in a large mixing bowl.
Mix the buttermilk, lemon, olive oil and chives together in a jug and season well with salt and pepper.
Toss the dressing through the leaves and sprinkle over the toasted hazelnuts. Finish with a pinch of flaky salt for extra crunch.
RECIPE: Anna Shepherd
IMAGE: Jess Lea-Wilson
