Salinas, CA – Royal Rose radicchio of Salinas, CA celebrates National BBQ Day July 4th with Royal Rose Radicchio. Royal Rose Radicchio is calling you to come celebrate Summer outside, and on the grill! Soak up the sun, and fire up the barbecue! While the family is prepping for Summertime Fun, we're hunting down the best grilling recipes.
Who's got the right idea for the perfect Summertime Grilling recipe? The Food Network and Michael Chiarello with his Perfectly Grilled Radicchio. It’s wonderful aroma of garlic, fresh thyme and mozzarella will have the masses running to the dinner table. Let the season of Summer arouse your senses and we'll awake your palate with our Grilled Radicchio with Balsamic Glaze. Perfect for grilling, try serving with your favorite grilled steak or grilled Portobello mushroom topped with blue cheese.
Perhaps you're looking for an Italian touch to compliment your July 4th BBQ? Add Royal Rose's Baked Treviso with Fontina and Parmesan Cheese – eggs and cream elevate the flavor while mellowing the bitter profile. Because of its adaptable shape and mild flavor Treviso is truly the Italian vegetable that cooks!
Treviso and Radicchio are great on the grill, inside or out. Don’t pass up the produce aisle when you’re looking for delicious items for the grill. Grilling brings out the natural sugars in many vegetables and lettuces, such as romaine and radicchio, they are no exception. A bit delicate, but well worth the extra effort. The sun is shining. Get out there and grill some radicchio today!
Perfectly Grilled Radicchio
Recipe courtesy Michael Chiarello, Food Network
Ingredients
· 4 heads radicchio
· 12 garlic cloves, minced
· 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
· 3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
· 2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
· 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
· 1 pound mozzarella, cut into 16 pieces
· Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
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. Put a plate on top of the radicchio to keep them under water.
In a medium bowl, combine all 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. Be careful, as the oil mixture may flame up.
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.
If making radicchio in advance: Before the party, have the radicchio drained and marinated in the vinaigrette in the refrigerator.
Background on Royal Rose The Company:
The “Salad Bowl of the World” gained some much-needed color, flavor and crunch in 1993 with the formation of Royal Rose Radicchio of Salinas, Calif. It proved to be the perfect combination Old World vegetable meets New World agriculture power and the results have been delicious.
Royal Rose took to growing and shipping four varieties of radicchio, a member of the chicory family that is revered in Italy and throughout Europe as a fresh, zesty addition to salads, pastas, pizzas and more. The vibrant color, pleasing bitterness and unmistakable crunch come together to form a unique addition to any meal.
It all started when Italian farmers Lucio Gomiero and Carlo Boscolo teamed up with Salinas Valley growers in the late 1980s. Gomiero, a winemaker by trade, had the idea of bringing Boscolo’s proprietary seed varieties and 50 years of radicchio growing in Italy to the United States. Gomiero believed there was a new market for this unique and versatile vegetable.
With the packaged salad revolution about to explode, the timing couldn’t have been better. Royal Rose turned a seasonal vegetable into a year-round treat, following the sun through four growing regions to supply the growing market with field-fresh radicchio.
Led by company president Dennis Donohue (who also happens to be current mayor of Salinas), Royal Rose’s Fresher-Bigger-Better program reflects an ongoing commitment to educating consumers about the vegetable’s versatility and freshness.
Royal Rose is also committed to education. Its new marketing campaign “What's A Salad Without Radicchio?” reflects an ongoing commitment to promoting and popularizing radicchio.
Radicchio has begun to enjoy mainstream acceptance by consumers. McDonald’s now includes radicchio in its premium salads in many markets, and chefs all over the country have come to look beyond the salad, holding the versatile vegetable in high esteem and using it raw, grilled or sautéed and in a variety of specialized dishes.
Source: Royal Rose, LLC
