Roasted Radicchio Salad with Arugula

Warm radicchio and arugula salad is a delicious roasted radicchio salad recipe that you need to add to your repertoire. Roasting radicchio softens and reduces its bitterness while the addition of balsamic sweetens everything up. This roasted radicchio salad is definitely a must-try recipe and so easy to make.

Are you someone who passes through the produce aisle, looks at the beautiful color of radicchio lettuce but passes on buying it because you just don't know what to do with it?

Well, if you are looking to try out new produce or need a radicchio recipe, this roasted radicchio salad is the perfect starter dish to begin with in the kitchen!

Roasting radicchio helps reduce the natural bitterness that radicchio has and the balsamic vinegar helps to add a touch of sweetness. The addition of the arugula in this radicchio salad adds the fresh element and a bit of peppery bite that arugula is known for.

This radicchio salad recipe is a great salad for entertaining on special occasions or when you are craving a warm Italian salad that is healthy and delicious.

What is Radicchio?

Radicchio is a beautiful and tasty purple chicory plant that is similar to lettuce but that can also be quite bitter so you'll want to tame that. There are a few ways to decrease bitterness in vegetables.

The idea is similar to cooking Brussels sprouts with lemon to cut the bitterness of that vegetable. You can roast or grill it or add an ingredient that will offset it.

This radicchio salad mixes roasted radicchio with fresh arugula and then a dressing of warm balsamic that comes from the roasting part helps offset the bitterness. It essentially uses all the techniques to reduce the bitterness of the radicchio and makes it taste amazing.

If you decide to grill the radicchio, make sure to add a little of the balsamic vinegar to the radicchio before grilling and as soon as it comes off the grill. This will still give you the nice warmed vinegar you want for the dressing.

This radicchio salad recipe is served warm or at room temperature depending on how long you let the radicchio cool after coming out of the oven.

Ingredients needed

To make this roasted radicchio salad, here is what you will need (full recipe below):

• Radicchio: Look for a nice deep purple color without any brown edges.
• Arugula: The arugula is going to help make the base of this salad.
• Balsamic vinegar: Balsamic cuts through the bitterness of the radicchio.
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and pepper
• Parmesan: I like to add bites of parmesan to the salad but you can leave this out if you do not have it.

How to make roasted radicchio salad

This roasted salad is so simple. Here is what you do:

• Slice: each half of the radicchio in half and separate the leaves out onto a large sheet pan.
• Drizzle with your olive oil and balsamic vinegar.¼ cup balsamic vinegar,2 tablespoon good olive oil
• Season with salt and pepper evenly over the top.kosher salt and pepper
• Roast in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until you start to see the radicchio brown on the edges but still have some shape.
• Remove from the oven to cool for a few minutes.
• Toss the roasted radicchio and arugula together.
• Dress the salad by pouring the balsamic vinegar and olive oil from the sheet pan over top of the salad.

Additions

This radicchio salad is really amazing as is but you could certainly add your own touches to it to make it your own or make it a light meal. Some suggestions of things you can add to the salad are:

• Cubed or shredded Italian cheese with it. I love adding shredded Parmesan to the radicchio.
• Crisped up bacon or pancetta.
• Apples or Pears
• Roasted Chickpeas

No matter what you choose, I guarantee you'll be incorporating this radicchio recipe into your weekly meals after trying this out!

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