Young & Hungry

I imagine it’s not too common for someone to be inspired to plan an entire meal around something like radicchio, but thanks to Michael Chiarello that’s exactly what I did.  This episode of his show on grilling was nothing out of the ordinary, but the idea of taking a boring leaf vegetable and putting it through marinade, direct heat, and a good stuffing is just plain inspirational.  For those that don’t know, radicchio is that bitter red “green” aka chicory that you usually pick out of your salad!  This recipe, however, transforms it into a charred veggie quesadilla-esque masterpiece.  The cheese melts gluing the leaves of the lettuce together into a sandwich of sorts while the marinade helps hide the bitterness that is also reduced through a nice long ice bath.  The juicy radicchio serves as the perfect counterpart to the oh too usual dry and overcooked pork, unless you too like risking salmonella in avoidance.   

 

As far as your starch for the meal is concerned, couscous went well and put to good use the leftover marinade from the radicchio.  Michael seems to take a heavy hand to the marinade; I found that half was more than sufficient.  If couscous isn’t your thing, I might do something simple like mashed or baked potatoes especially now that summer has come and gone and the colorful heirloom tomatoes have disappeared from the stores and markets. 

 

Herb Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

Serves 4.

• 1 lb pork tenderloin
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 sprig Rosemary
• Dried Thyme
• Honey
• Olive Oil
• Salt & pepper

 

Rub pork with oil and spices and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  To cook, grill the tenderloin for about 30 minutes or until desired “pink-ness”, turning after half of the time.  Alternatively, you can roast the tenderloin in the oven at 350. 

 

Cherry Tomato Couscous

Serves 4.

• 1 cup whole-wheat couscous
• 16 oz chicken broth
• ½ cup radicchio marinade
• 1 carton heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
• ½ cup pine nuts, toasted

 

Toast pine nuts in a sauté pan over medium heat until lightly browned.  Bring chicken broth to a boil, pour over couscous, cover and let stand for 5 minutes or until absorbed.  Stir in marinade and cherry tomatoes and refrigerate, if desired.  Top with pine nuts.

 

Grilled Radicchio

Serves 4 thanks to Michael Chiarello.

 

• 2 heads radicchio
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 1.5 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
• 1 cups extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 pound mozzarella, cut into 16 pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Cut the radicchio in quarters lengthwise, being sure to keep some of the stem attached to each quarter. Trim off any dark bits of stem. Submerge the radicchio quarters in ice water for 1 hour to remove some bitterness and weighing them down to keep them submerged.

 

In a medium bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients except the mozzarella. Mix well.

 

Prepare a hot fire in your grill, or heat a cast iron grill pan over medium-high heat.

 

Drain the radicchio and place them on paper towels to absorb remaining water. Open up the leaves and spoon the olive oil mixture inside. Place the radicchio quarters on a baking sheet and pour the remaining marinade mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper.

 

Grill the radicchio until browned on the outside but still raw in the center, 3 to 5 minutes, turning occasionally. The oil mixture may flame up, but this results in the most delicious charring! 

 

When the radicchio begins to brown, pull from the grill, open up a section of each portion and place a slice of mozzarella inside. Place quarters back onto the sheet pan and place the pan directly on the grill for 5 minutes to melt the cheese. Drizzle any leftover dressing over the top of the grilled radicchio and serve warm.

 

 

NOTE:  Chop any remaining radicchio and mozzarella and add to leftover couscous for lunch the next day!  Not sure how well the radicchio will keep otherwise…