Radicchio Salad with Green Olives, Blue Cheese, and Candied Walnuts

Peppery, Sweet, Sharp, and Salty

This Radicchio Salad with Green Olives, Blue Cheese, and Candied Walnuts is one of my favorite ways to enjoy radicchio. The slightly bitter and peppery flavors of radicchio are balanced with sweet and buttery Castelvetrano olives, a light maple Dijon vinaigrette, and crunchy candied walnuts. The salad is rounded out with a generous measure of crumbled blue cheese that gives this dish a sharp and salty finish.

Soaking radicchio to mellow bitterness

Radicchio leaves are fairly bitter when eaten raw, but mellow when cooked or soaked prior to consuming. While this is not strictly necessary, you can eat radicchio without soaking, I prefer to mellow the bitterness of raw radicchio by giving it a good cold soak for about 30-minutes when enjoying it in a salad. The best way to do this is as follows:

1. Carefully slice the radicchio in half. Remove the core and discard. Chop or tear the remaining radicchio leaves into bite-sized pieces, as desired.
2. Fill the inner-strainer of a large salad spinner (or colander) with a few handfuls of ice. Place the strainer back in the salad spinner bowl (or a bowl larger than your colander, if using) and fill with cold water directly over the ice. Allow to sit for a minute or two until chilled fully, then strain out the ice, leaving the ice-cold water behind in the bowl. It is important that all ice is removed before the radicchio gets added or you will be pulling ice cubes out for a very long time (I've done this. It's not fun).
3. Add the prepped radicchio to the ice cold water, ensuring it is completely submerged with water. Allow to rest for about 30-minutes or more.
4. Strain the water, spin in a salad spinner (if using), and then use a clean kitchen towel to fluff dry the remaining water as best as you can.

What kind of green olives are best to use?

The bright green Castelvetrano olive is my favorite choice for this radicchio salad recipe. They are nicely firm and add a sweet and buttery flavor to this dish that complements the sharp flavor of the blue cheese. I usually buy them pre-pitted, only because I want to make this dish as easy as possible, however, many would argue that the best way to enjoy them is to buy them with their pits intact to preserve flavor and remove the pits yourself. Both ways are delicious, it just depends on how much work you mind exerting before you can bite into them!

If you can’t find Castevatrano olives a decent substitute is green Cerignola olives, which are also firm and buttery. If neither option is to be found, this recipe works well with green Manzanilla olives, which are readily found in most grocery stores, often stuffed with red pepper. This option is much brinier and slightly bitter compared to the Castelvetrano olive, but will still be delicious in this recipe if you’re having trouble finding the others.

What kind of blue/bleu cheese is best to use?

Whether you refer to it by its American spelling, blue, or French spelling, bleu, this sharp and salty cheese is one of my very favorites. The three varieties you will most often come across are the following, and all three are great options for this Radicchio salad:

• Roquefort – A sheep’s milk cheese originating in southern France, this cheese is lightly tangy, acidic, crumbly, and slightly moist with white flesh and distinctive veins of deep blue. This is one of the world’s best-known bleu cheeses.
• Gorgonzola – A cow’s milk cheese originating in Milan, Italy, this cheese is buttery, crumbly, and quite salty with white flesh and greenish-blue marbling. I find that Gorgonzola is a good option for those who may sometimes find the blue mold flavor of blue cheese overpowering as it tends to be somewhat milder in Gorgonzola, but is still sharp and nicely salty. This is the cheese that I used to photograph this recipe, but I'm just as likely to use the other varieties when I make this recipe.
• Stilton – A cow’s milk cheese originating in England (produced in the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire), this cheese is soft and crumbly, with nutty and salty notes and delicate blue veins expanding from its center.

How should I serve this radicchio salad?

• As a side for chicken, fish, pork, or steak -- This marinated Grilled Skirt Steak is a great idea!
• As an appetizer before enjoying a hot slice of pizza - This Pizza Quattro Stagioni or this Sausage, Fennel and Calabrian Chili Pizza are both great options!
• As an appetizer before a pasta dish such as Pasta with Ricotta Beet Sauce or Pasta with Olive Tapenade
• As a side for this Mediterranian Turkey Burger

What tools do I need to make this recipe?

• A cutting board
• A chef's knife
• A kitchen scale (or measuring cups for less precise measurements)
• Measuring spoons
• A large salad spinner - OR - A large mixing bowl + a colander
• A large mixing bowl (can use the same one as above)
• A small mixing bowl
• A fork or small whisk
• A skillet
• A wooden spoon or spatula
• A parchment-lined baking sheet

Are you looking to upgrade to your cooking tools or replenish your pantry? Check out my kitchen tools shop page and pantry staples shop page to find my must-have kitchen tools, pantry items, and other Whip & Wander favorites.

Looking for more dinner inspiration?

Love this Radicchio Salad recipe? Here are some additional salads that you might enjoy!

• Smoked Salmon and Citrus Salad with Cucumber and Avocado
• Strawberry Peach Summer Salad with Basil Walnut Pesto
• Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Blue Cheese, Cranberries, and Pecans
• Crunchy Greek Salad with Avocado and Feta
• Wedge Salad with Horseradish Blue Cheese Dressing

A note for special diets

This Radicchio Salad with Green Olives, Blue Cheese, and Candied Walnuts can be made friendly for gluten-free, grain-free, vegetarian, and low-FODMAP diets.

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