Your Best Lettuce

The purple: radicchio and shallot. The pink: shrimp, bacon, and cherry tomatoes. And the flavorings: balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and dijon mustard.

Be sure to keep the cores of the radicchio intact -- you want them to stay together while roasting.

The balsamic will caramelize ever so slightly while in the oven, adding yet another layer of complexity to the salad.

And of course, olive oil to coat the leaves.

Fit them together snugly -- we're looking to wilt them a bit as they roast.

The shrimp are simply prepared: just olive oil, salt, and pepper.

EmilyC smartly has us roast them separately -- after all, they cook much faster.

While the oven gets going, it's time for the vinaigrette. The bacon gets started in glug of olive oil to prevent it from burning.

Once the bacon is barely crisp, toss in the shallots just to soften.

Deglaze the pan with balsamic and let it reduce a bit.

Maple syrup seems like an unusual choice, but it acts as a perfect foil to radicchio's bitter flavors.

And a swirl of dijon mustard adds creaminess and bite to the sauce.

The cherry tomatoes should just barely slacken instead of fully cooking.

And here's that radicchio, looking loose and lovely.

Amanda roughly chops it all -- you're looking for bite-size pieces, but don't sweat it too much.

And don't forget about the shrinp! They'll keep cooking after you take them out of the oven, so watch them carefully.

Then it's just a matter of mixing everything together, and resisting sneaking bites from the bowl.

Warm salad, reimagined.

A cool palette of greens and yellows: leafy arugula, escarole, mint, and cilantro, spicy serrano and poblano peppers, and lots of add-ins -- ginger and lemon juice, ras el hanout, garlic, lemon zest, and olive oil.

It's a relief to just roughly chop a head of lettuce -- no precise 1" strips here.

As hardlikearmour suggests, we stuffed our escarole and arugula into a four-cup measure while prepping the ingredients.

Back at the cutting board, the scallions and poblano need just a rough chop.

The garlic too, just one clove's worth.

Chilling the blender before use with a simple ice bath ensures that even as the blender's blade heats up, your greens will stay chilled and bright green. Such a smart tip!

And in it all goes: first the aromatics.

Cilantro -- stems and all -- and mint add herbal notes to the sauce.

You won't taste the lemon in the final sauce, but it makes a difference in binding together the flavors.

Ras el hanout -- a Middle Eastern spice mix of cumin, coriander, ginger, and black pepper -- adds smoky complexity to the harissa.

You'll be adding more olive oil later, but just a little added now helps inititally emulsify the sauce.

Ginger juice in addition to the ground ginger in the ras el hanout makes for a spicy double punch.

Add the lemon zest and a couple of ice cubes for body and it's time to go!

Not your average harissa.

Now it's time to add all those leafy greens, working in handfuls.

You may have to use a spatula, but be patient and it'll all blend.

Last but not least, the olive oil transforms the mix from a green smoothie into harissa! You may not add it all -- stop when the sauce has a barely chunky, pourable texture.

And then spoon it over everything. Or just eat it from a spoon.