Elevate your salad and side-dish game at once. When blasted in the oven and flecked with a bit of char, radicchio mellows and gains some sweetness while still retaining just the right amount of bitterness. Here, it’s paired with acidic (syrupy balsamic) and fatty (creamy cheese) ingredients to make a knife-and-fork salad with balanced flavours.
Round or slender
You can use either of the popular varieties of radicchio—round Chioggia or slender Treviso—in this recipe, but if using a large head of this colourful member of the chicory family, you can slice it into quarters for 4 servings. Radicchio can also be prepared on an outdoor grill.
Chill out
When some people say they don’t like slightly bitter-tasting walnuts, it could be because they have only tried nuts that have turned rancid. The delicate omega fats in walnuts are prone to turning unpleasant tasting fairly quickly. So, it’s best to stash them in your fridge or freezer and purchase walnut halves when possible, since their smaller surface area delays the rancidity process.
Roasted Radicchio Wedge Salad
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) walnut halves
- 2 small heads radicchio, halved and tough core sliced away (see tip)
- 1 tsp (5 mL) grapeseed oil or sunflower oil
- 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
- 1/4 tsp (1 mL) black pepper
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp (10 mL) honey
- 1/4 tsp (1 mL) crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) crumbled mild blue cheese, such as gorgonzola or Danish blue
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) parsley
Nutrition
Per serving:
- calories150
- protein5g
- fat10g
- saturated fat3g
- trans fat0g
- carbohydrates12g
- sugars4g
- fibre2g
- sodium333mg
Directions
01
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). On baking sheet, place walnut halves and roast for 12 minutes, shaking pan halfway through cooking time, until nuts are a couple of shades darker. Be careful not to burn nuts. Remove nuts from oven and raise heat to 400 F (200 C).
02
Brush radicchio halves with oil and season with salt and pepper. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone sheet and place radicchio cut-side down. Roast in preheated oven, turning once, until leaves look shrivelled and radicchio has darkened, about 12 minutes.
03
Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, place balsamic vinegar, honey, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium-high for 4 to 6 minutes, or until vinegar is reduced by about half (should be a pourable syrup consistency). Watch pot closely so vinegar does not become too thick.
04
Place radicchio wedges on each of 4 serving platters. Drizzle with balsamic reduction and sprinkle with blue cheese, parsley, and walnuts.
Matthew Kadey, MSc, RD
Matthew Kadey is a dietitian, nutrition writer, and recipe developer. He is also the author of Rocket Fuel (VeloPress, 2016) and Muffin Tin Chef (Ulysses Press, 2012).
READ THIS NEXT
SEE MORE »
Fruity Tofu with Sweet Potato Wedges
Make no mistake, meaty grilled tofu, sweet flame-licked salsa, and chunks of crispy sweet potato make for a meal prepared in the great outdoors that puts the yum in plant-based eating. A master’s touch Perfect spuds: Crispy potatoes on the grill are a revelation. But it’s best to give them a head start on the stovetop, so the potatoes heat through before the exteriors grill to a burnt crisp. Flavourful tofu: Giving tofu a 90-degree turn on the grill halfway through cooking each side will produce a nice crosshatch pattern that makes you look like a grill master. Plus, those overlapping grill marks give tofu even better flavour.
Tex-Mex Taco Pizza
Combine pizza and taco night by firing up the grill. Sweet flame-licked onions, melty cheese, fiery salsa, hearty beans, and crispy flatbread crust all marry well in a no-fuss pizza that comes together fast enough to work within the confines of the weekday time crunch. Set up a work area near the grill so you have all your toppings within easy reach and ready to go. You can also use large Middle Eastern-style pitas for your base. Using store-bought pizza dough? If you want to go more traditional and use pizza dough, you can certainly stick with the grill. Stretch or roll pizza dough (about 1 lb/450 g) to roughly 1/2 in (1.25 cm) thick. It need not be perfectly round or square; it just has to be even thickness. Preheat grill to medium using indirect heat (for a gas grill, leave one burner off; for a charcoal grill, shovel coals onto one side of the grill) and lightly oil grill grates. Brush one side of dough with oil, then place on grill in an area not directly over the heat, oil side down. Once dough is lightly charred and just barely set, about 1 to 2 minutes, use pizza peel or big, flat spatula to transfer it to a work surface, grilled side up. Apply toppings and return pizza to indirect heat. Close grill lid, and heat until edges of crust are crispy and cheese has melted, 5 to 7 minutes.
Beet Falafel Burgers with Dilly Tahini Sauce
If a falafel and burger had a love child, this would be it. The result of this hybrid is a vibrantly coloured, complex-flavoured veggie burger you’ll flip over. You can also serve them between toasted hamburger buns with toppings such as sliced cucumber, sliced tomato, and arugula. Holding it together Many plant-based burgers are crumbly and weak, risking a patty that ends up between the grill grates instead of intact on your plate. Keep your burgers together by forming patties no larger than 1 in (2.5 cm) thick, which ensures a nice, even crust on the outside and a thoroughly warmed-through centre, then chilling the patties before grilling. You can also consider using a burger mould, which gives you denser, equally sized patties that cook evenly. Be sure your grill grates are well greased. Deep freeze You can freeze uncooked falafel burgers on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet or plate and then transfer frozen patties to an airtight container. When ready, just thaw and cook as instructed. Falafel cooking options To bake: Arrange falafel on parchment-lined baking sheet and brush lightly with oil; bake at 375 F (190 C) for 25 minutes, or until crispy on the outside and heated through. To pan fry: Heat large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 1 Tbsp oil (15 mL) for each 2 burgers in the pan, swirl to coat pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until underside is browned. Then flip carefully and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more.
Grilled French Toast with Vanilla Scented Yogurt
Bet you’ve never considered making breakfast or Sunday brunch on the grill. Consider cooking your egg-soaked bread over flames as a way to coax even more flavour out of brag-worthy French toast. You can also use slices of brioche bread and whatever fruit happens to be in season. Of course, nobody could fault you for topping it all off with a drizzle of maple syrup. If you want it dairy free, you can use dairy alternatives such as oat milk and coconut yogurt. Not so fresh Somewhat stale bread is key to great French toast. You want it to be 2 to 3 days old. What if your bread isn’t aged enough? You can speed up the process by slicing bread and then placing it on a pan in 350 F (180 C) oven for about 10 minutes, or until it firms up. Make sure it’s sliced nice and thick to prevent the egg mixture-to-bread ratio being too heavy in favour of egg, resulting in soggy French toast.