The genius of the recipe is 3-fold: soaking the radicchio in cold water pulls out some of the bitterness, pairing it with balsamic vinegar balances the rest, and the microplaned Manchego cheese adheres the vinaigrette to the leaves. Gorgeous, easy, delicious!
INGREDIENTS:
2 to 3 heads radicchio
¼ cupDark Balsamic Vinegar
¼ cup sherry vinegar
1 red onion, chopped
1 Tbsp honey
¾ cupHouse BlendorOlio Santo EVOO
1½ cups of finely grated Manchego cheese
Maldon Sea Salt
Prepping the dressing: In a large bowl, combine the vinegars and onion and mix until onion is coated so that all of that oniony flavor gets into the vinegar and mellows. Let sit for an hour, then strain out onion and use the pickled onion elsewhere (it's fabulous addition to sandwiches and salads). Add honey and olive oil to the vinegars and whisk.
Remove cores from radicchio and discard. Chop into 1” pieces. Fill a large bowl with 1 gallon of water and ice and stir to make water icy cold. Strain ice out and add radicchio to water and let sit for 15 minutes to remove some of its bitterness.
Strain and spin in a salad spinner until dry or pat dry using a clean tea towel. Using your hands, toss the radicchio with dressing until evenly coated. Add a cup of the cheese and toss again.
To serve, top the salad with the remaining ½ cup of cheese, and serve. Serves 4-8.
