This salad, splashed with a tangy, fruity raspberry vinaigrette and topped with fresh raspberries and creamy burrata, feels fancy — but it really is as quick and easy to make as it is delicious to eat.
Total Time: 20 mins
Servings: 4
The peppery, spicy flavors from a mix of arugula, radicchio, and frisée lettuces are tamed by sweet fresh raspberries and a dressing based off of a simple raspberry shrub, created by Neal Bodenheimer. Dijon mustard and Marcona almonds bring in salty, pungent, and buttery notes. And burrata cheese, torn and strewn over the salad just before serving, takes this crisp and crunchy salad to the next level.
What is the story behind raspberry vinaigrette?
Before it was bottled and sold in grocery stores, raspberry vinaigrette made its debut as part of the wave of nouvelle cuisine (a modern, fresh, and simplified approach to French cooking) dishes that became wildly popular in the 1980s and ’90s — a style of cooking that California chefs like Alice Waters and Wolfgang Puck helped define.
What exactly is a shrub?
Shrubs are tangy, vinegar-based elixirs that flavor cocktails and nonalcoholic drinks. Also called drinking vinegars, they begin with vinegar, fruit, and sugar, and other flavorings like spices, flowers, or herbs that infuse (either by being heated first or cold-steeping) over several days until the flavor fully develops. The mixture is then strained and will last several months in the refrigerator.
Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen
The rule of thumb for vinaigrettes is usually to go with a 3:1 oil to acid ratio, but since this recipe includes Neal Bodenheimer’s raspberry shrub, which is very vinegar-forward, the ratio for the dressing was adjusted to a 1:1 ratio of oil to shrub.
Marcona almonds are Spanish almonds with a soft texture and sweet flavor. You can find them at grocery markets or at ohnuts.com. If you cannot find the Spanish nut, you can substitute roughly chopped roasted and salted blanched almonds, but the texture will be firmer and the taste not as sweet.
Make ahead
The vinaigrette can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. The undressed salad, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, will keep for up to three days.
Ingredients
Raspberry Shrub
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1 cup frozen raspberries, thawed (such as Wyman’s)
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2/3 cup water
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2/3 cup distilled white vinegar
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1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated or superfine sugar
Bitter Greens Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette
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1/4 cup Raspberry Shrub
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1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
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1/4 teaspoon black pepper, plus more for garnish
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3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
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1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
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8 cups loosely packed mixed bitter greens, such as arugula, dandelion greens, roughly chopped frisée, radicchio, and chicory (about 8 ounces)
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1/2 cup chopped roasted salted Marcona almonds
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1 (6-ounce) container fresh raspberries (about 1 1/2 cups)
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2 small shallots, thinly sliced into rounds (about 1/2 cup)
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2 (4-ounce) burrata cheese balls, drained
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Flaky sea salt, for garnish
Directions
Make the Raspberry Shrub
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Add raspberries, water, vinegar, and sugar to a blender. Process on low until smooth, about 1 minute.
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Strain mixture through a fine wire-mesh strainer set over a bowl, pressing down with a spatula to extract as much liquid as possible. Let mixture settle, about 5 minutes. Spoon off and discard any foam.
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Store shrub in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Make the Bitter Greens Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette
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Whisk together raspberry shrub, mustard, pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Gradually whisk in oil until emulsified, about 1 minute. Set dressing aside.
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Gently toss together greens, almonds, raspberries, shallots, half of the dressing, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl until evenly coated and distributed; transfer to a platter. Gently tear each burrata ball into 4 pieces, and place on top of salad. Drizzle burrata with additional oil; sprinkle with flaky sea salt and additional black pepper. Serve with remaining dressing on the side.
Recipe developed by Melissa Gray-Streett
Originally appeared in Food & Wine magazine, April 2025