Grilled Radicchio with Bruleed Grapefruit
/Summary: Bitter meets sour-sweet and then they meet sugar and heat. Mysterious, unique, damn good.
Yield: serves 6
Ingredients:
- 1-2 heads radicchio, cut into six 3/4" rounds (try to maintain the "steak" aspect), you won't need all of the radicchio
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- Chinese 5 spice
- 1 large pink or red grapefruit, skin cut away, fruit cut into six 1/4" - 1/2" rounds
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- good quality, aged (!) Balsamic, for drizzling
Instructions
Prepare your grill; you'll want it at medium-high heat. Preheat your broiler to high. Brush your radicchio steaks with olive oil, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Dust lightly with Chinese 5 spice, and place oil- and spice-side down on the hot grill. Grill 3-4 minutes and remove.
In the meantime, place a piece of foil on a baking sheet, put the six grapefruit rounds on it, and put 1 tablespoon brown sugar on each grapefruit slice. Place under the broiler for 4-5 minutes until sugar is melted and juices have started to run. Remove from broiler and finish bruleeing with a kitchen torch if you've got it. Otherwise you can leave the fruit under the broiler a bit longer.
On each radicchio steak, place one bruleed grapefruit round. Drizzle with Balsamic and serve immediately.
