Recipe: colourful radicchio salad with rocket, duck and mozzarella

I’ve enjoyed cooking since as long I can remember - I still have my We Can Cook cookbook from the 80s that is rammed full with recipes. I’ve always loved the conviviality of cooking and then whiling away a few hours with friends or family around a table. And I find it relaxing, even meditative to cook. In Paris large meals are less frequent, due to the smaller spaces and few of my Parisian friends are big cooks, but I love to host and entertain. Even when it’s just Victor and I, I love to get out the placemats, linen serviettes and candles, and make an experience of it.

You might have noticed that we cook a lot - we’re always whipping up some pasta (mainly him), fish or chicken dish served with salad. And I look forward to our weekly pilgrimage to the market on Sunday to replenish our stock with in-season produce. Last weekend we hosted Victor’s family for Sunday lunch. On Saturday I spotted bordeaux red bunches of radicchio at Eataly and thought they’d make the perfect starter. So I found a recipe and we vaguely followed it. I love discovering new recipes, but never remain entirely faithful to them (unless it’s for a cake or dessert), and always end up adjusting something to suit my taste or our ingredients available at home. So we arrived at this colourful radicchio salad with pear, mozzarella, rocket and duck that tasted great and beautifully-brightened the table. I hope you enjoy making it (and eating it too)!

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

500g radicchio or just one large bunch

1 large pear (they are currently in season in France)

1 large mozarella 250g

Large handful of rocket

Magret du canard séché fumé (smoked dry duck breast), but can be substituted with lardons

Handful of walnuts

Handful of hazelnuts

For the dressing:

x3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

x1.5 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

x1 teaspoon of honey

Pinch of salt and pepper

Method:

Chop the radicchio, dice the pear and add both to a large serving bowl, followed by a big handful of rocket or however much you’d like, add the walnuts and hazelnuts after crushing them in a mortar and pestle and then add the duck breast and toss together. Finally place the mozzarella ball on the top of the salad and sprinkle with salt and pepper. You can either add the vinaigrette to the salad and toss before adding the mozzarella or serve separately in a bowl so guests can serve as much as they like. Et voila!

Serve with a baguette and enjoy!

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