Shredded veal salad with radishes, tomatoes, spinach and yogurt-mustard dressing

I have a confession to make: there are some ingredients I just don’t know how to cook. This is was the case of – radishes. I used to eat radishes in salads, and sometimes as crudités pairing dips, but I never really understood its usage in the kitchen – or even how to make the most of it.

While scrolling down tweets from Food52 – a truly amazing food site- I discovered a simple, delicious recipe with grilled chicken, radishes pickles and greens from Caroline Wright, who creates recipes for Food52.

Pickled radishes, which have a peppery taste, are an excellent topping for sandwiches and salads. They give that contrasting consistence with its crisp texture, as well as that sweet and sour edge that I love in some dishes.

The following recipe is an inspiration of the above-mentioned recipe (that you have to absolutely try!). Since the following preparation in Italy is called  insalata di bollito (bollito is a combination of different boiled meats that is very common in Northen Italy), I used shredded boiled veal (bollito di vitella), which combined with some sweet datterini tomatoes and the peppery taste of piclked radishes gives the salad the balance and freshness I was looking for.

Because of boiling and shredding processes involved in the preparation, this recipe is time consuming – but in the end it was worthwhile. For this salad, the dressing I used is Greek whole yogurt with mustard, a choice I like because it gives that creaminess and tanginess without having to use heavy mayonnaise and vinegar (which sometimes if over-used, it overpowers the taste of other ingredients).

Insalata di bollito di vitella

Ingredients

• 600 grams of trimmed boneless veal stew meat (if you can’t find veal, chicken is also a good option)
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 large or two small carrots
• 1 large onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 10-20 pickled radishes
• 10-13 small plum or cherry tomatoes
• 1 – 1 ½ cups of baby spinach
• 1 cup of Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons of mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

To pickle radishes go to this link

1. In a boiling pot add veal stew meat and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Add bay leaves, carrots, onion, garlic cloves and cover it with water. Bring to a boil for about 1 hour or until cooked. When cooked, set aside and let it cool. You can reserve the broth for any other preparation such as risotto or soup.
2. Meanwhile cut radishes into wedges and tomatoes into fine wedges, discarding theirs seeds.
3. When the veal has cooled off, begin shredding it with the hands.
4. In a bowl, toss shredded veal, tomatoes, pickled radishes, Greek yogurt and mustard. Combine.
5. Arrange baby spinach on the bottom or just toss baby spinach with the salad
6. Serve it with some grilled country bread.

Suggestion: try to combine fresh ingredients just right before serving, otherwise you will end up with a soggy salad)

An alternate plating with grilled country bread