Charred Radicchio and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 500 g home cooked chickpeas or 2 x 400 g cans of chickpeas, drained
• 2 tablespoons olive oil for brushing
• 2 small heads of radicchio
• a handful of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• juice and zest of ½ – 1 lemon (to taste)
• salt and pepper
• 75 g roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped.

Method

Gently warm the olive oil with the garlic in a medium saucepan. Once you begin to smell the garlic, tip in the chickpeas, switch off the heat and leave the flavours to infuse.

Heat up your grill or griddle. Cut the radicchio into quarters or sixths depending on the variety and size, keeping each section held together by the core at the base. Brush with olive oil and grill for about 6-8 minutes until beginning to brown and crisp. Alternatively, if you are using a griddle pan, place the oiled radicchio onto the searing hot griddle and turn after about 4 minutes.

Meanwhile add the parsley, lemon juice, salt , pepper and hazelnuts to the chickpeas. Stir and taste. The seasoning should be really assertive with plenty of black pepper and lemony acidity.

Serve the chickpeas topped with the radicchio and eat whilst still warm.