Eat This Now: Radicchio

We think everyone’s cooking routine needs an occasional shock to the system.
Jeanine Donofrio’s new release, The Love & Lemons Cookbook: An Apple-to-Zucchini Celebration of Impromptu Cooking ($35) has enough punchy graphics, fresh food photos and creative recipes to give your familiar routine a major spark of inspiration.
The eye-poppingly stylish book befits Donofrio, a former graphic designer turned food world star of the blog, Love & Lemons. The book was a family affair: She created the more than 100 all-new vegetarian recipes; her husband, Jack Mathews, helped taste-test; and together they photographed the recipes in their sunny Austin, Texas, kitchen.
Organized by ingredient, the cookbook is easy to use with whatever is on hand or can be scavenged at the farmer’s market in any season.
Donofrio confesses to loving kale, but encourages readers to reach for less common super vegetables like dandelion greens, sweet potato greens and chicories such as radicchio.
High in antioxidants and an excellent source of Vitamin K, Donofrio likes to wrap radicchio around a quinoa filling or tame it in a bright and vibrant Balsamic Grilled Radicchio Salad. The bitter kick and spicy edge of radicchio will mellow out with the grilling. To make it gluten-free, just skip the croutons.
We think there is no better time for off-the-cuff cooking than summer, and with the first official day of the season bearing down fast upon us, this is just the kind of recipe we need more of.
Balsamic Grilled Radicchio Salad
SERVES
4PREP TIME
05 minCOOK TIME
05 minIngredients
2 small heads radicchio
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
White balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
2 cups (500 ml) mixed salad greens
⅓ cup (75 ml) hazelnuts, chopped and toasted
Parmesan cheese wedge, for shaving
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 slices grainy bread + ½ clove garlic (optional)
Directions
Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium heat.
Slice the radicchio into wedges and drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and pinches of salt and pepper. Grill each side for about 3 minutes, or until char marks form and the radicchio softens.
Remove from the grill and assemble the radicchio wedges on plates with a small handful of salad greens. Drizzle with olive oil and a little bit of balsamic vinegar. Top with the toasted hazelnuts and shavings of Parmesan cheese. Serve with freshly ground black pepper.
If desired, make toasted bread crumbs: Toast 2 slices of grainy bread until crispy. Rub with the cut side of a half clove of garlic, place in a food processor, and pulse into coarse crumbs. Sprinkle onto the salads.

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