A Simple, Perfect Pizza Night Salad

Hello Pizza Friends,

Welcome to another edition of Pizza Every Other Friday, where we celebrate all things pizza adjacent: salads, sauces, condiments, and more. Today I’m sharing a recipe for a salad inspired by one served at Eataly’s La Pizza and La Pasta, where my family ate last Friday night.

What struck me about the salad was its simplicity: lightly dressed arugula, radicchio, and endive tossed with shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano. When I asked the server about the dressing, he said: Really good extra-virgin olive oil, really good balsamic vinegar. That’s it.

I made the salad upon returning home using the suggested two dressing ingredients, starting with two tablespoons of each for roughly 20 ounces of greens. I anticipated needing to add more of each element, but one bite assured me I would not. The key to the salad’s success is to use what truly feels like a whisper of dressing, because doing so not only allows the flavor of the greens — their bitter and spicy notes — to shine but also keeps their texture crisp.

If you are looking for a new pizza night salad, this one couldn’t be simpler to throw together, and in this weird, in-between period of seasons, when we’ve had our fill of winter fare but spring still feels far away, I’m finding it to be kind of perfect, too.

As noted, the recipe calls for aged balsamic vinegar, which can be pricey. I’ve shared a very reasonably priced one below that I can find locally and that you can order online (though shipping is not free) as well as a faux version you can make with standard balsamic vinegar.

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Video: Arugula, Radicchio & Endive Salad

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The Recipe: Arugula, Radicchio & Endive Salad

For the salad you’ll need arugula, radicchio, and endive.

For the dressing you’ll need Extra-virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar. I can find both of these brands locally, and I can’t recommend either of them enough. If you don’t have aged balsamic on hand, you can make a faux version: see the notes in the recipe. You’ll also need some good, flaky sea salt. Maldon sea salt is my favorite and can by found in many grocery stores now but buying it by the bucket is the best value.

Chop the endive and radicchio finely, then add to a large bowl (I love this very large one) with the arugula. Season with sea salt and toss gently:

Drizzle with equal parts extra-virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar. Season with pepper to taste, and toss gently:

Mound into a serving bowl:

Then shave Parmigiano Reggiano over the top. Season generously with freshly cracked black pepper:

Toss gently, then serve:

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PS: A few weeks ago, upon sharing some sneak peeks from Pizza Night in my Instagram Stories, the food stylist for the book, Nicole Twohy, messaged me saying: “I’d like to caption this book: Come for the Pizza, Stay for the Salad!” If you love a good salad, Pizza Night, which will be here in just 6 weeks, includes 52 🥗🥗🥗🥗🥗

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Any topic you’d like covered? Please let me know. See you next Friday 🍕🍕