Chef Juliana
Laranja em Gomos para Feijoada
You think cutting orange this way is fussy. It isn't. It's one knife, one bowl, and the reason feijoada tastes like home instead of just heavy.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Salada de Radici
Created by
Bitter greens are not punishment. Hot bacon fat, garlic, and vinegar soften the bite of radici into the sharp, warm green a good everyday plate needs.
Salads
Brazilian
Weeknight
Comfort Food
Outdoor Dining
15 min
Active Time
10 min cook•25 min total
Yield4 servings
You see a pile of bitter greens and think, isso não é pra mim. I know. A gente learned to fear bitterness as if dinner had to be sweet, soft, and obedient. Nonsense. Bitterness is a flavor, not a defect, and it only needs someone to teach it how to behave.
In the Serra Gaúcha, this kind of warm radici salad sits beside galeto, polenta, rice, beans, meat, and all the other parts of the table that make people linger. At home, it does the same quieter job on a Tuesday pê-efe: arroz soltinho, feijão, something browned in the pan, and something green with enough character to wake the plate up.
The method is small and exact. Wash the greens well, dry them so they don't turn watery, pour hot bacon fat over them so they murcham just enough, then finish with vinegar while the pan is still warm. Heat softens the bitter edge. Vinegar cuts the fat. Garlic gives the whole thing a backbone. No packet, no powder, no little cube pretending to be flavor.
Cozinhar não é dom, é um aprendizado. Anota aí: when the leaves go glossy and relaxed but still keep a little chew, you've got it. That's salada de radici, desgourmetizada and doing its work.
Salada de radici belongs to the Italian-Brazilian cooking of the Serra Gaúcha in Rio Grande do Sul, where families and galeterias serve bitter chicory greens alongside galeto, polenta, massa, and wine-country table food. The name comes through the Italian dialects carried by immigrants who settled the region from the late nineteenth century, and in Brazil it usually points to green bitter chicory rather than the round red radicchio many people know from elsewhere. The warm bacon-and-vinegar dressing is practical home cooking: fat softens the greens, vinegar sharpens them, and the salad stands up to roasted chicken without disappearing.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
radici, chicory, or escarole
Quantity
2 large bunches, about 10 cups
washed, dried, and torn into bite-size pieces
bacon
Quantity
150g
cut into small cubes
olive oil (optional)
Quantity
2 tablespoons
use only if the bacon is lean
garlic
Quantity
3 cloves
thinly sliced
white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Quantity
1/4 cup
salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| radici, chicory, or escarolewashed, dried, and torn into bite-size pieces | 2 large bunches, about 10 cups |
| baconcut into small cubes | 150g |
| olive oil (optional)use only if the bacon is lean | 2 tablespoons |
| garlicthinly sliced | 3 cloves |
| white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar | 1/4 cup |
| salt | 1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/4 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Large salad spinner or clean kitchen towel
- •Wide 28cm skillet
- •Large heatproof mixing bowl
- •Tongs
Instructions
- 1
Wash the greens
Fill a big bowl with cold water, dunk the radici, and swish it with your hands. Lift the leaves out, leaving any grit behind, and repeat if the water looks dirty. Dry the leaves very well in a salad spinner or clean towel. Wet greens dilute the hot dressing, and then you get a puddle instead of a salad.
If your radici is very bitter, soak the torn leaves in cold water for 10 minutes, then dry them hard. The cold water takes off the sharpest edge without turning the greens timid. - 2
Render the bacon
Put the bacon in a wide skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring now and then, until the cubes are browned and the fat has melted into the pan, about 6 to 8 minutes. You want crisp edges and a glossy layer of fat. If the pan looks dry because your bacon is lean, add the olive oil. That hot fat is the dressing, so don't rush it.
- 3
Wake the garlic
Lower the heat and add the sliced garlic to the bacon fat. Stir for 30 to 45 seconds, just until the garlic smells sweet and turns pale gold at the edges. Pull the pan off the heat before it browns hard. Burnt garlic is bitter in the wrong way, and this salad already has enough opinions.
- 4
Wilt the radici
Put the dried greens in a large heatproof bowl. Pour the hot bacon, garlic, and fat over the leaves and toss with tongs until the radici turns glossy, darker, and slightly relaxed, about 1 minute. Don't cook it into surrender. You want murchar, not collapse, because the salad should still bite back a little.
- 5
Finish with vinegar
Return the skillet to low heat, add the vinegar, and scrape the bottom for 20 seconds to catch the browned bits. Pour this warm vinegar over the greens, add the salt and pepper, and toss again. Taste a leaf. It should be bitter, salty, smoky, and bright. If it tastes flat, add a pinch more salt or another spoon of vinegar.
- 6
Serve warm
Serve right away, while the leaves are glossy and warm. Put it beside galeto if that's your dinner, or beside rice, beans, and a simple steak or fried egg if it's Tuesday. This is the green part of the pê-efe doing real work, not decorating the plate.
Chef Tips
- •Buy radici when the leaves look lively, deep green, and crisp at the stems. If they're limp and yellowing, cook something else. I won't let a tired vegetable make you think you failed.
- •Escarole is the honest shortcut if you can't find radici. It will be milder and less Serra Gaúcha, but it will still give you a good warm salad on a Tuesday.
- •Don't replace the garlic and vinegar with a seasoning packet. That's not saving time, that's buying salt with a costume on.
- •Serve this warm, not hot from the pan and not cold from the fridge. Warm is where the bacon fat coats the leaves and the vinegar still smells alive.
- •Leftovers are not ruined. Chop them and fold into rice the next day, or put them beside beans. The texture softens, but the flavor stays useful.
Advance Preparation
- •Wash and dry the radici up to 1 day ahead. Wrap it in a clean towel and keep it in the fridge so the leaves stay crisp.
- •Cut the bacon and slice the garlic up to 1 day ahead. Keep them covered in the fridge, separately.
- •Dress the salad only right before serving. Once the hot fat and vinegar hit the leaves, the clock starts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 150g)
Calories
270 calories
Total Fat
24 g
Saturated Fat
7 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
17 g
Cholesterol
30 mg
Sodium
980 mg
Total Carbohydrates
6 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
7 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Arroz de Carreteiro, Entrevero & Pampa Plates
Browse the full collection
Chef Juliana
Maionese de Batata
You don't need a family secret. You need potatoes cooked until tender, onion softened by vinegar, and a homemade mayo that holds the salad together without turning it into paste.
Chef Juliana
Salada de Alface e Tomate
You don't need courage for salad, you need order: dry the leaves, salt the tomatoes, dress at the last minute. That's how the fresh corner of the pê-efe stays crisp.
Chef Juliana
Salada de Batata Alemã
You don't need mayo to make potatoes behave. Dress them warm with vinegar, onion, and bacon fat, and every slice turns sharp, glossy, and ready for the pê-efe.