Royal Rose Radicchio, Strawberry and Walnut Salad

Before we begin-I must apologize for the lack of new photos in this post- I ate the finished product before I remembered to snap some images.

As I briefly stated in my last post where I threw some incredible radicchio into a bowl with blue cheese, bacon and an amazing Balsamic vinegar, I have been the recipient of quite a few lovely heads of Royal Rose Radicchio.  I am now deep in the throws of finding delicious ways of using this bitter leaf vegetable. 

After making my delicious lunch salad on Sunday, I knew I wanted to make another salad for dinner, and since I had bacon and blue cheese leftover- I wanted to use them up as well.  The rest of my fridge contents contributed fresh strawberries, walnuts and the end of my jar of apricot jam that I purchased to make my I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Toast Ambassador recipe.  

Now, to some this sounds like a whole lot of ingredients that don't in, any way, go together.  However to me, this sounded like a perfect combination.  Bitter radicchio, sweet strawberries, tangy blue cheese, smoky bacon, and that wonderful nuttiness and crunch of the walnuts, all held together with apricot jam?  I was in.

I chopped half a head of radicchio, and sliced 7-8 strawberries into a bowl.  I fried up 4 slices of thick cut bacon cut into 1/2 inch pieces.  I chopped about 1/4 cup of walnuts.  I tossed all of this together.  Then in a small bowl I combined 1/4 of a cup of apricot jam with a tablespoon and a half of champagne vinegar, two teaspoons of olive oil, salt, pepper and a healthy sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes.  Just before serving, I added the dressing to the salad bowl and stirred until all elements of the salad were well combined.

Honestly- I was a little worried about how this salad would turn out.  There were a lot of elements in it which didn't necessarily spell out "classic pairing".  However, the end result was truly delicious.  The radicchio was bitter as ever, full of all of those wonderful nutrients, but was perfectly offset by the sweet and slightly spicy dressing and the wonderful naturally sweet strawberries.  The bacon and the nuts provided some great textural contrast.  I have since eaten this salad a few times, and have shared it with friends who echoed my sentiments- it was a weird mix of ingredients, but really worked when pulled all together.  

This is a perfect summer salad- I'll definitely be recreating in the weeks ahead!  

Royal Rose Radicchio-Enhanced with Blue Cheese and Bacon

Last week I received an email from Royal Rose Radicchio announcing their new campaign, salads for adults. Their (ingenious) idea creates salad dressings that include alcohol to spice them up for a fun kick to a boring salad.  Now it is my personal opinion that when using radicchio a salad is pretty exciting already.  Radicchio is a type of chickory, extremely bitter in flavor, but pairs beautifully with so many different flavors, brightening each against its strong flavor.  So, when I received the email from Royal Rose, and they offered to send me some samples of their radicchio- I jumped at it.

Friday evening I arrived home and there awaiting for me was one giant box chock full of beautiful red/purple radicchio.  Sunday afternoon, after an indulgent weekend of treats I was craving something leafy, and something fresh.  Now I'm all about the adult style salad dressings, but this being a rainy salad where I didn't want to rush around looking for too many ingredients, I decided instead to make something from what I had at home.

My refigerator, besides containing quite a few heads of radicchio, also had a bit of bacon, and some blue cheese.  And then, my pride and joy, a beautiful bottle of Rabio Balsamic Vinegar that I was given during the Bertolli tour of the North End a few weeks ago.  Rabio is an amazing Balsamic- sweet, thick and without any of the mouth pucker that can come with vinegar. Honestly, Im not sure that words can do it justice.  I could drink Rabio Balsamic straight from the bottle.  

To begin my salad, I started by slicing bacon into small pieces and frying them up in a pan.  I drained them, and sat them aside while I peeled off the out leaves of the radicchio, sliced and chopped about half the head, and tossed it into a big salad bowl.  I crumbled about a 1/4 cup of blue cheese into the bowl, added the bacon bits and combined gently with my hands.  I plated the mix, and then lightly drizzled the balsamic over the top.  

The combination of flavors was so delicious.  Smoky bacon, stinky blue cheese, bitter radicchio all sweetened up with that wonderful balsamic.....simple perfection.   

I am really excited to make the dressings created by Royal Rose, but I have to say- this was a great start to my week of radicchio.     

Chicken and Arugula Salad with a gremolata dressing

Lately, I haven't been able to cook as much as I normally like to, so last night I seized the opportunity to make a nice meal. Last weekend I started to put together an idea for a "fall salad" that might lend itself to a holiday side dish as well. I started a list of ingredients in my head of arugula, snow peas, chicken, almonds, pomegranate seeds and then got a bit stuck. Zucchini is a staple in my diet, but I'm beginning to feel a bit too dependent on it in my cooking so I wanted to branch out. I was also stuck for what type of dressing to use. After a quick consultation with a very knowledgeable friend, I got some more direction.

A suggestion of fennel was one that I hadn't even considered. Fennel, specifically the Florence Fennel, is basically an herb, but has two different parts that can be utilized in consumption. The frawns, or the feathery plant like section has a nice light anise like taste to it. The bulb of the plant can be sliced down and used in salads as a crispy addition for some textural differentiation. The bulb also contains that great anise flavor to it, but also has a similar water component to a cucumber so you get that nice refreshing flavor into your salad. Salads with fennel are always a hit with me so I was excited to use it last night.

I started my salad last night by creating an envelope of tinfoil and baking my chicken tenders in a bit of olive oil and some lemon herb blend for some flavor. I baked this for about 40 minutes at 375 degrees. Then I started on the dressing. A gremolata had been suggested, and though I had never made one before it sounded like an excellent idea. Gremolata is an Italian based accompaniment normally to veal, comprised of Parsley, Garlic and Lemon Rind. When Ive had it in the past its been a "chunky" condiment, thick in texture and a great addition to a variety of meats and fish for flavor add. Thinned down with an olive oil/vegetable oil combination it could make an excellent salad dressing.

I pulled out my Cuisinart and threw in four cloves of garlic, a couple very healthy handfuls of parsley, the juice of two lemons, and some salt. I started the Cuisinart and then drizzled in some olive oil and then some vegetable oil until I reached my desired consistency. The result was a beautiful light green, with a wonderful flavor of spicy garlic, fresh parsley and then that great citrus punch of lemon.

I then poured some sliced almonds into a pan and toasted them up for another crunch to the salad, and a bit of a different flavor component. Toasted almonds have a great nutty flavor that sort of reminds me of eating nuts at Christmas time with my family. The flavor just screams fall to me.

When the chicken was done I pulled it out of the oven and let it sit to cool down. My goal was a room temperature salad, not a piping hot one. Once cooled I began to assemble the salad. Arugula in first, then the snow peas. I sliced a pomegranate in half and removed the seeds by hitting the bottom of the rind with a spoon. Soon I had a beautiful burst of color in my very green salad. I sliced the chicken into bite size pieces and added them, then I sliced just the bulb of the fennel. Thin slices, cut down into small pieces added just enough to the salad. Then I added the thinned down Gremolata in, and tossed the salad, to the top I crumbled Ricotta Salata, and then the toasted almonds were added. Ricotta Salata may be my new obsession. I have always loved the flavor and versatility of Ricotta cheese as it morphs between savory and sweet dishes. Ricotta Salata is made in the same way, but in its final stages it is salted and dried so that it forms a consistency similar to Feta Cheese. The finished product is the same delicate flavor with a bit more salt.

All together, I really enjoyed the salad. The Gremolata added a lot of flavor, bringing in a bit of spice and the great citrus taste to the peppery arugula. The chicken was hearty, the pomegranate seeds were sweet and juicy, and the fennel added the missing texture of fresh crunch. I will definitely be making this salad again, and I think Ill check in with the family about adding it to our holiday meals- perhaps without the chicken to make it a bit lighter.