Here’s one idea: a light, but satisfying salad full of buttery green olives, nutty chickpeas, salty Parmesan cheese, and a sweet balsamic vinaigrette. All these flavors and textures balance the radicchio, making a colorful, elegant – and quick! – seasonal salad for your dinner table. Radicchio is a member of the chicory family along with endive, escarole, and puntarelle. It looks similar to a small head of purple cabbage and can range from fist-sized to soft-ball-sized. Look for it near the cabbages and leafy greens at the grocery store. Buy heads of radicchio that feel very firm and tight when gently squeezed and that feel heavy for their size. Avoid heads that look like they’ve been battered about or that feel soft or wilted—this is a sign that the radicchio is old or has been poorly handled during transit. Back home, store your radicchio in the crisper drawer. Individual heads will keep well for several weeks. The green olives are a key player in this salad. Not only do they look oh-so-lovely against the purple of the radicchio, but they add a sweet, buttery flavor that makes a counterpoint to the lightly bitter leaves. Plus, they come already pitted, which makes prepping them for this salad a breeze. When it comes time to grate your Parmesan cheese, use a microplane grater or the finest holes on your cheese grater. This creates thin, airy strands of cheese that melt into the salad and help flavor every bite. If you can’t find radicchio, substitute frisee, endive, or another bitter green. During the summer, try grilling the quartered heads of radicchio before slicing them into pieces for the salad. Grilling brings out sweetness in the radicchio! Transfer the seeds to a bowl to cool. (Sunflower seeds can be toasted several days in advance and kept in an airtight container at room temperature until needed.) Cut each quarter cross-wise into strips 1- to 1/2-inch thick. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. This salad is best served within an hour of preparation, but leftovers are quite good for several days and make a great lunch salad. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
