This beet pink salad is inspired by Mike Bossy’s restaurant. Owned by (and named after) the late, great Canadian hockey plater, who made his name with the New York Islanders, the Montreal steakhouse only lasted for a couple of years. But the pink salad served there lives on in food writer Lesley Chesterman’s memory. She added a few flourishes to make it her own, like mixing in radicchio for pizazz. But what she remembers most about that colourful salad is that they tossed it over a bowl of ice, which made it especially fresh and crunchy. In this recipe, a chilled bowl is essential for maximum crunch.
Serve this fresh pink salad alongside our best version of steak frites for an at home steakhouse experience.
Pink Salad
Bright pink, ultra crispy and chock-full of all this good things, this salad will delight your guests.
Ingredients
Dressing
- ½ small onion
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp chili sauce (or ketchup)
- 1 tsp sriracha or other hot sauce
- 2 tsp bottled horseradish
- ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ tsp salt
- pinch paprika
Salad
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas
- ½ small red onion finely chopped
- 1 cup cooked chicken pieces (approx 150 g) or 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- 4 large cooked beets (approx 600 g), diced
- 2 heads Little Gem lettuce or 1 romaine heart, sliced into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces
- ½ small head radicchio ripped into large pieces
- ¼ cup chopped dill or parsley, plus (optional) sprigs for garnish
Instructions
Dressing
- Grate onion on microplane grater into small bowl, then whisk in mayonnaise, chili saice, sriracha, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, salt and paprika. For a more pourable consistency, you can whisk in 1 tbsp hot water. Refrigerate until needed or for up to 1 week.
Salad
- Place salad bowl over large bowl of ice to chill it or place in freezer (or at least the fridge) for 15 minutes before tossing salad.
- When ready to serve, toss chickpeas, onion, chicken, beets, lettuce, radicchio and dill together. Pour on dressing and toss again until salad is well coated and turns pink throughout. Serve immediately, sprinkling extra dill sprigs overtop, if desired.
