Vigoron: radicchio, carrots and cabbage salad tossed in a vinaigrette with a crispy tofu skin and crispy sunchoke
Potato: crispy potato stuffed with local white beans, leeks, radicchio stem, chervil, ota tofu, and potatoes, topped with crispy potato skin
Raab: charred raab served over mashed potatoes with a radish vinaigrette
Vigoron is a salad that was created in Granada, Nicaragua. It’s normally boiled yuca, pork rinds and curtido (cabbage and carrots in vinaigrette). I always loved this salad for its bright flavors and simplicity. It cools you down with that intense humidity. I swapped out rinds with tofu skin, and for the boiled yucca I added a mashed potato so it has a similar texture and holds true to the original. Radicchio being local here it adds an extra element to this salad which I love.
This potato salad is a play off a Spanish tapa called patatas aliñadas which is similar to a Russian salad in Nicaragua. So I thought it would be fun to sort of combine both salads in one. As Nicaraguan cuisine is very much influenced by Spanish, Caribbean and indigenous cuisines. Normally, it’s hard boiled eggs, tuna, and potatoes tossed in olive oil, vinegar and parsley. I swapped out the eggs with tofu and the white beans become the tuna. Even though it’s not a complete one to one iteration, I love the added creaminess of the white beans.
When brainstorming the salad, we talked about the fun juxtaposition of hot and cold ingredients on a plate. This fun trio highlights seasonal vegetables next to two different but complementary salads. Usually, you'll find a side of pickles on the table to add to your salad for extra flavor and texture or simply for snacking. In this case, you can pick your own adventure by adding raab on top to eat alongside the salads.
