PINK SALAD (recipe page 126)

RECIPE NOTES To slice the radishes thinly: leave greenery on radish for holding on to and peel into thin rounds with a vegetable peeler – easy! Or carefully slice on a mandolin. The most common radicchio ‘Rosso di Verona’ looks like a miniature red cabbage. Use it raw in salads, discarding any green-tinged leaves because they are bitter. Radicchio di Treviso has long tapering leaves, is not as bitter, and is quite a delight to eat doused in olive oil and grilled on the barbecue. It can also be chopped and added to risotto. The pleasantly bitter taste of radicchio works well with strongly flavoured foods and I adore a salad of radicchio with a pungent dressing of garlic, grassy olive oil, parmesan and chopped capers. It looks striking on a plate, too. No radicchio? Don’t grab red cabbage, it’s too tough for this salad. Use a red oak leaf salad, or red-tinged soft leaf lettuce.