Earlier this year, acclaimed Danish chef Frederik Bille Brahe, 40, transformed the space and art world favorite Apollo Bar & Canteen in the courtyard of Copenhagen’s Charlottenbork Museum. It closed in order to revamp its menu. He and executive chef Yuta Kurahashi, 36, have shifted their focus to dinner, and now serve dinner with simple dishes that make use of seasonal ingredients. But Bille Brahe likes to keep things simple and also enjoys surprising her guests. The dish, which he calls “salad rosso,” looks like a head of untouched radicchio, but it’s actually an elaborate trompe l’oeil. Chicory has been deconstructed, its bitter leaves coated in a rich, earthy black garlic and almond cream, and reconstituted with a sweet citrus vinaigrette sandwiched between tart blood orange chunks. According to Bill Brahe, radicchio is a vegetable that “most people think they hate, but when you make something with it, they change their mind.” Here he shares his recipe.
Frédéric Bille Brahe’s Salad Rosso
For 4 people
material
For crumble:
About dressing:
special equipment
Method
1. Cut off the bottom of the radicchio and place the leaves separately in a container partially filled with ice-cold water. When washing the leaves separately, be careful not to break them. Dry the leaves in a salad spinner and store on a tea towel for later.
2. To prepare the orange pieces, first cut off the top and bottom of the fruit and remove the skin. Next, cut off the white outer membrane, leaving only the flesh of the orange. Cut the orange into thirds from the sides toward the core and remove the center pith. Cut each slice into 10-12 pieces and set aside.
3. Make the crumble: Cut the bread into approximately 1-inch square cubes, toss with a little olive oil, and spread on a sheet tray. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes. Roast the walnuts in the oven for 6-8 minutes. The bread and nuts should be golden brown and crispy. Once cool, blend in a blender until you have a medium-coarse crumble. Let’s set it aside.
4. Make the almond cream. Blend the almonds and water in a high-speed blender for a few minutes. Strain the liquid through a muslin cloth into the pot. Heat the liquid to 195 degrees, near the boiling point, and leave it on the fire until it thickens. Set aside to cool in the pot for about 15 minutes. Add half of the puree back to the blender with the black garlic and blend until the texture is even, then fold into half of the unblended puree. Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
5. Make the dressing by combining all ingredients in a bowl and using a whisk or hand blender. Let’s set it aside.
6. Assemble the salad (you can make one large plate or two small plates): First, place the leaves, curved side down, on a cutting board. It is useful to group large leaves together and group small leaves together. Add a spoonful of almond cream to the core of every third leaf.Then generously decorate all the leaves Try to cover each with dressing. Then add small chunks of orange to some of the leaves. Sprinkle the crumble, flaky salt, black pepper, and orange zest all over the leaves. Next, add a small amount of almond cream to the plate and place one or two of the largest leaves together on top to form a bowl. Add leaves on top of it, starting with large leaves and ending with small ones, until you have a pile. Finally sprinkle with crumble and add some orange zest. Finish above.
