Patriot Salad Recipe: A Red, White & Blue Side

Serves 6 | Total time: 45 minutes | Active time: 15 minutes

Every Fourth of July table has the usual suspects — and then it has the dish people actually talk about. This red, white, and blue salad is that dish.

It's a study in contrasts: bitter radicchio and curly endive against sweet red grapes and blueberries, tangy quick-pickled cucumber against creamy gorgonzola, with roasted pistachios for crunch. It looks like a celebration and eats like a proper salad, not a garnish. Best of all, it comes together in about 15 minutes of hands-on time, which leaves you free to actually enjoy your own party.

Ingredients

Dressing

• 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 English cucumber, peeled and diced

Salad Blend

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
• 1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups red grapes, halved
• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 heads radicchio, chopped
• 1 head curly endive or frisee, chopped
• 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola picante
• 1/2 cup roasted and salted pistachios, roughly chopped

Directions

1. Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle simmer, then remove from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes.
2. Place the diced cucumber in a small bowl and pour the warm brine over it. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and salt. Add the grapes, blueberries, radicchio, and endive and toss until everything is well coated.
4. Drain the pickled cucumber and add it to the bowl along with the gorgonzola and pistachios. Give it one final toss and serve.

Serving It Well

• Start the pickled cucumber first — it needs its 30 minutes, and everything else comes together while you wait.
• Add the gorgonzola and pistachios at the very end so the cheese stays in crumbles and the nuts stay crunchy.
• Serve it in your widest, shallowest bowl. Half the appeal is seeing all those colors at once.

This salad was made for eating outside on a long summer evening — set it out on the patio furniture next to whatever's coming off the grill and watch it disappear. And if holiday weekends at your place keep growing, a custom outdoor kitchen gives you the room to host them properly.

If you're planning backyard upgrades before the next big gathering, swing by our Coeur d'Alene or Post Falls showroom, or book a free consultation. We're neighbors helping neighbors — that's how we've always done it.

Credit: Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis