I fell in love with this salad immediately. Not only is it a gorgeous salad to bring to the table, the flavors and different textures are superb. The addition of maple syrup in the dressing adds the perfect touch of sweetness that pairs so well with the intense flavors of bitter radicchio and briny, salty olives.
The original recipe from Bon Appetit calls for broken lasagna noodles. I used ribbon shaped mafaldine pasta instead because it is what I had available. Similar to lasagna with its ruffled edges, mafaldine is a very versatile pasta to have on hand.
Castelvetrano olives are a favorite of mine. Here on Maui they can be tricky to find. Sadly, Whole Foods does not sell them at their olive bar any longer though they are available packaged. You could substitute Picholine olives if you can’t find Castelvetranos.
The salad dressing is delightfully sweet and tart thanks to the maple syrup, red wine vinegar and fresh lemon juice. A bit of nutritional yeast adds flavor and body to the dressing.
If you have any leftover salad, it can be stored in the refrigerator and eaten the next day. If possible, reserve some of the toasted almonds to sprinkle on just before serving so they retain their crunchy texture.
Adapted from Bon Appetit magazine
Ingredients
2/3 cups raw almonds
1 pound mafaldine or wavy lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch pieces
kosher salt
1 large garlic clove, finely grated
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1/3 cup finely chopped basil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
freshly ground pepper
1 small head radicchio, thinly sliced
2 cups Castelvetrano olives, pitted and torn (can substitute with Picholine or other green olives)
Directions
- Preheat toaster oven or oven to 400 degrees. Toast almonds on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until fragrant and slightly darkened, 6-9 minutes. Let cool slightly, then finely chop.
- Meanwhile, cook noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until tender (you don’t want al dente pasta salad). Drain and rinse under cool water.
- Stir almonds, garlic, oil, parsley, basil, lemon juice, vinegar, nutritional yeast, maple syrup, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Season dressing generously with salt and black pepper.
- Add noodles, radicchio, and olives to dressing and toss to combine. Serve with crusty sourdough bread.