Alkaline Recipe #68: Radicchio, Artichoke And Walnut Salad

Now that spring seems to have finally arrived and temperatures are slowly but surely rising, light and crunchy salads are becoming a regular dish on my weekly menues again.

I particularly like this radicchio, artichoke and walnut salad, as it combines a lot of different flavours and textures. The earthy and distinctive taste of Jerusalem artichokes makes a great contrast to the freshness of the lemon and radicchio.

You can enjoy it warm or cold!

Radicchio, Artichoke and Walnut Salad

Serves 2 as a main course
Serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

1 large radicchio or 150g radicchio leaves
40g/6 tbsp walnut pieces
45ml/3 tbsp walnut oil
500g Jerusalem artichokes
Juice and pared rind of 1 organic lemon
Himalayan crystal salt or coarse sea salt and ground black pepper
Optional: flat leaf parsley, to garnish

Instructions

If you are using a whole radicchio, cut it into 8-10 wedges. Put the wedges or leaves in a flameproof dish. Scatter over the walnuts, then drizzle over the oil and season. Grill for 2-3 minutes.

Peel the artichokes and cut up any large ones so the pieces are all roughly the same size. Add the artichokes to a pan of boiling salted water with half the lemon juice and cook for 5-7 minutes until tender. Drain. Preheat the grill to high.

Toss the artichokes into the salad with the remaining lemon juice and the pared rind. Season with salt and pepper. Grill until beginning to brown. Serve at once garnished with torn pieces of parsley, if you like.

Enjoy!