RADICCHIO WITH GREEN OLIVE & PECORINO ROMANO DRESSING

SERVES 6 AS A SIDE DISH / PREPARATION 25 MINUTES

I often use parsley sprigs in my salads, rather than just the leaves. What’s a parsley sprig you ask? Generally I call a parsley sprig the leaves at the top with a 3 to 4cm stem attached. When building a dish I generally use sprigs for structure, texture and height, which plays a strong part in a salad’s integrity. Also why waste something that can play a part in making something so visually appealing.

GREEN OLIVE & PECORINO ROMANO DRESSING 150g pitted green olives (the greenest you can find) ¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons chardonnay or white wine vinegar 1 clove garlic, crushed or finely grated

30g finely grated pecorino romano

10g flat-leafed parsley, chopped

In a food processor, or by hand, roughly chop the olives – you want a rough-textured look, not a fine paste. Put the olive oil, vinegar, garlic and pecorino romano in a mixing bowl. Whisk by hand for a few moments until mixed, then fold in the olives and flat-leafed parsley and mix until combined. The finished mixture should look like a rough green salsa.

RADICCHIO SALAD

2 heads radicchio

1 small handful flat-leafed parsley sprigs 3 tablespoons olive oil

Remove any slightly wilted outer leaves of the radicchio, then trim the base to release the leaves. Separate the leaves, give them a good soak in cold water and spin dry.

Take your largest mixing bowl and put in the radicchio leaves, parsley sprigs, about ⅓ of the olive dressing and the olive oil. Mix gently until everything is coated, then arrange on a large platter and finely splatter the remaining olive mixture randomly over the top. Serve immediately.