This recipe is brought to you in partnership with The California Olive Committee.
Radicchio is such a beautiful vegetable on the table, but those vibrant purple leaves are so bitter that it can be tricky to figure out how to work them into a recipe.
Here’s one idea: a light, but satisfying salad full of buttery California green ripe 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 California green ripe 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 nice counterpoint to the leaves themselves. Plus, they come already pitted, which makes prepping them for this salad a breeze.
Did you know that California produces over 95% of the olives grown in the United States? What’s neat is that California Ripe Olives are not grown on mechanically run, industrial farms. In fact, multi-generation farming families work hard to bring high-quality olives from the grove to your pantry.
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.
Radicchio is such a beautiful vegetable on the table, but those vibrant purple leaves are so bitter that it can be tricky to figure out how to work them into a recipe.
Here’s one idea: a light, but satisfying salad full of buttery California green ripe 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 California green ripe 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 nice counterpoint to the leaves themselves. Plus, they come already pitted, which makes prepping them for this salad a breeze.
Did you know that California produces over 95% of the olives grown in the United States? What’s neat is that California Ripe Olives are not grown on mechanically run, industrial farms. In fact, multi-generation farming families work hard to bring high-quality olives from the grove to your pantry.
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.
Radicchio Salad with Green Olives, Chickpeas, and Parmesan Recipe
This recipe works best with finely-grated parmesan cheese, grated on a microplane or on the finest holes of your cheese grater.
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!
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!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 large or 2 small heads radicchio (10 to 12 ounces)
- 1 16-ounce can California green ripe olives, drained, rinsed, and roughly chopped (6 ounces or 1 1/3 cup dry olives)
- 1 16-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper, plus more to taste
Read More: Radicchio Salad with Green Olives, Chickpeas, and Parmesan
