Roasted Radicchio with White Beans, Figs and Walnuts

I was scrolling through Facebook last night (the eye of winter storm Juno) and a friend’s post caught my eye. The NY Times headline: No Food Takeout During Storm. The Mayor placed a ban on non-emergency travel, cutting off food delivery vehicles. According to Mayor De Blasio, a “food delivery bicycle is not an emergency vehicle”. My comment? New Yorkers are going to be forced to cook (muhaha!) All jokes aside, when you dive in a little deeper, this pseudo-crisis, is well, a crisis.

A friend visiting from out of town commented how little I had in my fridge. But when the time came to make dinner, I dug into my pantry and found a few vegetable odds and ends rolling around in my crisper. Spices, good olive oil and salt, salt, salt, and dinner was done. In 30 minutes, nonetheless. I often cook by way of my fridge”mise en place”, or everything in it’s place. A weekly batch of farro, a tray of roasted vegetables, cooked beans I froze months ago – they all add up to whole meals. I keep rich extras like Greek feta, real, crumbly Parm and toasty walnuts at the ready. This is the way I’ve been cooking for years and most likely the way I’ll always do it. Augmented with something fresh – a gorgeous piece of fish from Whole Foods, a bit of cooked sausage from the butcher, a ripe-right-now avocado, it all gets used.

This warm salad is an homage to my pantry. Thirty minutes of prep work on a Sunday meant this dish came together in 10. This is more of a formula than a recipe. Combine a roasted vegetable with a cooked bean, add some caramelized onions, something crunchy and something sweet. Lemon and salt, always. Maybe there will be a new headline “Storm Brings People Back into the Kitchen”. I like the sound of that much better.

Roasted Radicchio with White Beans, Figs and Walnuts

Loosely adapted from Bon Appetit

Serves 4

• 1/2 pound white beans (such as cannellini or flageolet), soaked overnight in water
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for finishing
• 2 heads radicchio, sliced into 2″-thick wedges
• 1/3 cup caramelized onions (here’ how)
• 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
• 1/3 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
• 1/3 cup dried figs, sliced
• 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Drizzle balsamic vinegar
• Kosher salt and fresh black pepper

Drain soaked beans and place in a large pot. Cover with fresh water, add bay leaf and garlic cloves. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to simmer. Cook on low, covered, for about 30 minutes until beans are tender. Remove bay leaf and garlic (you may smash the garlic with the back of a knife and stir into the beans). Season the pot with Kosher salt to taste. Keep warm. Beans can be cooked a few days ahead of time and stored in their cooking liquid.

Heat oven to 450. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle olive oil over radichio gently toss to combine. Season with a big pinch of salt and pepper and spread out on baking sheet. Roast for about 20 minutes until tender and charred in some places. Set aside.

Drain beans, reserving cooking liquid. In a large skillet, combine beans, roasted radicchio, mustard and caramelized onions. Heat, stirring occasionally and adding spoonfuls of bean cooking liquid to bring everything together. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving platter or bowl and garnish with walnuts, dried figs, lemon zest and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Enjoy warm.