Add us as a trusted Google Source Jump to Recipe

This one is for our fellow Portland-area friends who know and love this beloved salad from one of Portland’s best Italian restaurants. Our Copycat Insalata Nostrana (Radicchio Caesar) is our easy-to-make-at-home, absolutely delicious take on their staple menu item salad!

an overhead of a bowl of radicchio salad with dressing and croutons.

Now this, this is my kind of restaurant copycat. From the six-time James Beard Award finalist chef, Cathy Whims, Nostrana is my favorite restaurant in Portland. Not only is their food always incredible, but the service has also been equally amazing every time we’ve been there over the past 15 years. A staple on their menu is their Insalata Nostrana, which even my now 10-year-old loved when she first went there with us as a toddler. We love it so much, I had to try to recreate it at home, and while my Copycat Insalata Nostrana (Radicchio Caesar) isn’t exactly the same, it’s pretty darn close!

What is Insalata Nostrana?

This menu staple is essentially a Radicchio Caesar salad. Radicchio is a leafy vegetable from the chicory family, most commonly used in Italian cuisine. Its flavor profile is bitter and a bit peppery and earthy, but those flavors mellow when cooked or (as we do with this salad) when soaked. The crisp leaves and sharp flavors are the perfect complement to the Caesar-like dressing that it’s tossed in!

Ingredients Needed

bowls of croutons, olive oil, anchovies, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, egg, sugar, with a head of radicchio, Parmesan cheese, garlic, all labeled.

Radicchio – Such a beautiful Northern Italian vegetable that’s crisp, earthy, and just the right amount of bitter.
Parmesan Cheese – Our favorite, but another hard nutty cheese like Romano or Asiago also works.
Anchovies – This ingredient is key to getting the dressing right! Just like a true Caesar dressing, anchovies add briny umami flavor.
Egg Yolk – Also key to getting the right creaminess of the dressing.
Olive Oil, Red Wine Vinegar, and Lemon Juice – The base and necessary acid for the dressing.
Garlic and Sugar – Because garlic complements everything in this salad and the sugar adds just enough subtle sweetness to balance the bitterness of the dressing.
Croutons – Your favorite from the store, or (even better) make your own!

Easy to Make

a picture of a radicchio cored and chopped on a cutting board and then a bowl of it all with water and ice.

Chop and Soak

Because radicchio is so inherently bitter, in order to soften and mellow that bitterness, after coring and chopping, add the leaves to a big bowl of ice water and let them soak for at least an hour. This will help to pull out some of that bitterness.

a mortar with garlic, anchovies, and salt and then it all crushed together.

Create Dressing

Just like a true classic Caesar dressing, the first step to the dressing is to use a mortar and pestle to grind up the anchovies, garlic, and salt. This ensures that the anchovies and the garlic blend well into your dressing. Just adding them to the food processor (or whisking by hand) is not enough to ensure a good incorporation into the dressing.

No Mortar and Pestle, No Problem

Rolling Pin: Layer the anchovies, garlic, and salt on a cutting board and then cover them with plastic wrap before using the rolling pin to roll it all out to grind up the anchovies and garlic.
Cutting board and knife: Just lay it all out together on a cutting board and use a knife to chop it all up finely together, while doing a bit of mashing while cutting.
Use a mini food processor/grinder: I have a really old one of these from my mom’s kitchen, which comes in handy for things like this, or even for making a small amount of pesto.

an overhead of two pictures of a food processor bowl. One with anchovies and garlic, egg yolk, and red wine vinegar and the other it all mixed into a creamy dressing.

Blend

Once the anchovies and garlic are well mashed together, add them to a food processor with the remaining dressing ingredients (except the olive oil). Blend and very, very slowly add the olive oil, just like you would for our Mayonnaise From Scratch.

an overhead of a bowl of radicchio with dressing and grated cheese.

Once that creamy dressing is done, add it to your drained and dried radicchio with the grated Parmesan cheese. Mix the dressing with the radicchio and cheese first and then finish with the croutons.

an overhead of a bowl of radicchio salad.

All mixed, and Copycat Insalata Nostrana (Radicchio Caesar) done! The dressing has so much incredible flavor; the croutons are incorporated in smaller pieces; the radicchio is so crisp and just the right amount of bitter. Again, it’s not exactly the same as Nostrana’s, but it is sooo darn close.

You Also Might Like

two forks holding up some creamy radicchio salad.

Now we don’t have to wait for a dinner reservation to enjoy one of our favorites from Nostrana! Our Copycat Insalata Nostrana (Radicchio Caesar) will complement any meal, make an absolutely delicious lunch, and be so fun to bring as a side to share a bit of Portland!

Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, I n stagram, and Pinterest!

If you want to see more, be sure to sign up for my 5 Easy Ways to Start Cooking From Scratch!

Copycat Insalata Nostrana (Radicchio Caesar)

What is Insalata Nostrana?

Ingredients Needed