This year, spring decided to let me wait: the weather was uncommonly cold, the sun was scarce and the temperatures were low. So unusual for mid-May! I was so glad when the trees were in bloom a few weeks ago, I almost felt like the summer heat and the endless nights out on the terrace were so close, but – bad luck, I still have to wait for it. In the meantime, I’m starting to gather ideas for my birthday party and, as always, starters are such big trouble. Not because I don’t have any ideas for veggie appetisers, but because I need to find the perfect combination between taste, elegance and no-mess-ready-to-eat-with-your-fingers little bites. And that’s the difficult part. Eventually, I decided I’d settle, among others, for these visually appealing chicory salad cups; after all, they are satisfying and very easy to serve on platters, no knife and fork involved here.
Truth be told, the chicory plays a simple decorative/functional role – it’s not part of the salad in itself, but it does a great job at transforming what would otherwise be a plain potato salad into a visual treat.
Ingredients
- ½ kg/ 18oz potatoes, in their skins
- 1 cup green peas (frozen)
- 100 g/ 3.5oz vegan mayo (more if you want it creamier)
- 1 tbs Dijon mustard
- 2-3 tbs fresh dill, chopped
- 3 shallots, finely chopped
- a bunch of radishes, sliced
- 100 g/ 3.5oz capers
- juice of ½ lemon
- 3-4 tbs olive oil
- salt and ground black pepper
- 1-2 chicories
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes until tender (test one with a fork, if it penetrates the potato easily, they're done). Peel and chop in small cubes. Let cool completely.
- Separately, blanch the peas for a few minutes (if frozen), then drain the water and rinse with cold water to preserve its beautiful green colour.
- In a large bowl mix all ingredients: potatoes, peas, mayo, dill, shallots, radishes, capers, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper; make sure to season well, if not salty enough it will taste bland.
- Separate each chicory leaf and fill with the salad. Sprinkle with capers and slices of radishes and serve.
Despite their light appearance, these little cups are so satisfying!
Love and potato salad!
These are so beautiful! The potato salad sounds so light and delicious, I love the addition of the peas and radishes, both perfect for spring :) I’m not familiar with chicory cups, but they look the perfect way to service this potato salad :)
Isadora, chicory is by definition a bit bitter, especially if you don’t take out its core. If you do, then it’s simply light and refreshing and charming to use as a salad-holder :) Hope you’ll try it!
I’ve been looking for ways to fill chicory leaves for a while now! Thanks for the recipe, sounds delicious :)
Raquel, I hope you’ll give them a shot, they truly are delicious :)
[…] Chicory – These leaves can add colour, crunch and shape to your green salads or you could take advantage of their shape and use them as edible cups for an elegant starter idea like this potato salad served in chicory salad cups? […]