Looking for an easy and delicious Italian starter? These radicchio boats with pearl couscous are the perfect choice. Radicchio, also known as Italian radicchio, is a pink-purple coloured vegetable with a slightly bitter and crisp flavour that pairs perfectly with sweet and savoury ingredients.
In this recipe, I combined pearl couscous with diced pear, seared radicchio, gorgonzola and walnuts. The radicchio used in this video is round, but you can also use pointy shaped radicchio. This recipe is easy to prepare and I am convinced that everyone can make these! Serve these radicchio boats as an appetizer or as a side dish during your Italian themed dinner. Hope you like it as much as I do!
Italian Radicchio Boats
Radicchio leaves filled with Pearl Couscous, Pear, Gorgonzola and Walnuts
Servings: 4
Adjust servings here:
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- chopping board
- cooking pot
- thin sieve
Ingredients
- 90 grams pearl couscous*
- 1 pear
- 1 radicchio (1) to sear
- 1 radicchio (2) for boats
- 5 walnuts
- 100 grams gorgonzola cheese
VINAIGRETTE
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp pear marmalade**
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- salt & pepper
OPTIONAL
- balsamic glaze
Instructions
- Cook the pearl couscous for 7 – 8 minutes. Rinse the couscous with cold water to cool down.
- Wash and cut radicchio (1) into small strips.
- Clean and dice the pear into small cubes. Add it to the bowl with the couscous.
- Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and sear the radicchio strips for a few minutes. Set aside on a plate to cool.
- Add the couscous to a bowl. Add the seared radicchio to the bowl.
- Add the marmalade to the bowl and mix everything together.
- Make the vinaigrette by combining olive oil, balsamic vinegar, thyme, pear marmalade, salt and pepper. Mix.
- Add the vinaigrette to the bowl with the couscous. Use a spoon to mix everything together.
- Wash the radicchio (2). Slice off a small part of the stem to make it easier to remove the leaves. Use a knife to cut away a small section of the stem.
- Add the radicchio leaves to a plate, using two leaves per plate. Create small "boats" by placing the leaves in opposite directions on top of each other.
- Use a spoon to scoop a couple of spoons of the couscous mixture into the boats.
- Use a teaspoon to cut the gorgonzola into small chunks. Add the gorgonzola on top of the couscous mixture.
- Crumble the walnuts with your hands or use a knife and cutting board to chop them into small pieces. Sprinkle the crumbled walnuts on top of the boats.
- OPTIONAL: Drizzle balsamic glaze over the dish or add a little extra vinaigrette on top.
Notes
*I used pearl couscous for this recipe, but you can use regular couscous if you’re unable to find pearl couscous. Just adjust the cooking time according to the package instructions.
**I used pear marmalade to add sweetness to the vinaigrette, but you can use fig marmalade (or just honey) as an alternative.
Enjoy!
