{"id":16731,"date":"2014-09-07T13:51:42","date_gmt":"2014-09-07T20:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shescookin.com\/?p=16731"},"modified":"2020-04-14T09:41:41","modified_gmt":"2020-04-14T16:41:41","slug":"radicchio-and-roasted-fennel-panzanella","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shescookin.com\/radicchio-and-roasted-fennel-panzanella\/","title":{"rendered":"Radicchio and Roasted Fennel Panzanella"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n Every barbecue needs a memorable salad and like a glorious sunset, the riot of color in this radicchio, roasted fennel panzanella with heirloom tomatoes was not about to be outdone by the grilled meats coming from the grill. I mean, why should the ribs or burgers get all the glory?<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n A panzanella or panmolle<\/em> is a Tuscan salad of bread and tomatoes that’s popular in the summer. Traditionally, it includes chunks of soaked stale bread and tomatoes, sometimes also onions and basil, dressed with olive oil and vinegar. Naturally, like all salads, a panzanella is a blank canvas waiting for splashes of inspiration from the artist’s palette. Fennel is a vegetable that I haven’t really cooked with very much but have been seeing more frequently on restaurant menus – usually making a refreshing contribution to salads or soups.<\/p>\n Fennel is a crunchy, slightly sweet vegetable with a distinct anise flavor. Its\u00a0bulb, stalk, leaves and seeds are all edible<\/span>\u00a0and it is\u00a0closely related to parsley, carrots, dill and coriander. Not\u00a0<\/span>knowing whether our friends were fans of fennel’s anise flavor, I decided on roasting the fennel to mellow it, rather than adding it to the salad raw. The result was a delicate sweetness which complemented the bitterness of the radicchio beautifully.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Another selling point of a salad made with hardy, leafy greens such as kale, chard or radicchio in this case, is that it holds up to dressing without becoming soggy, making it an ideal potluck, picnic, party dish, or work day lunch. Inspired by a a salad in Bon Appetit’s <\/a>April 2014 issue, I created a lower fat, low sodium, vegetarian version by eliminating the salami, olives and all the salt in the recipe. I could not resist surrounding the panzanella with brilliant slices of heirloom tomatoes which could be replaced with grilled eggplant or squash in the fall and winter months. Radicchio is a leaf chicory, sometimes known as Italian chicory, with white-veined red leaves and a bitter and spicy taste, which mellows when it is grilled or roasted. I love the stuff, and appreciate<\/span>\u00a0Frieda’s Specialty Produce<\/a>\u00a0sending me two perfect specimens!<\/p>\n