SALINAS, CA – May is National Salad Month, and Royal Rose wants to remind people to eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables all summer long. May is also the perfect time to find great produce in a range of colors and varieties at local grocers and farmers’ markets. By diversifying fruits and vegetables, people can maximize the nutritional benefits of natural vitamins and nutrients.
Royal Rose Radicchio is available year-round, and is an exciting way of incorporating ‘red’ into your colorful diet. Bright red vegetables, like radicchio, are a good source of dietary fiber, Vitamins B6, K, E, and C, and minerals like Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc, Potassium, Copper, and Manganese. Radicchio is also high in inulin, which helps to naturally regulate blood sugar levels, and acts as a tonic for the blood and liver.
The red color in fruits and vegetables denotes phytonutrients such as lycopene, ellagic acid, quercetin and hesperidin. Their phytochemical properties are beneficial in regulating blood pressure levels, lowering bad cholesterol levels, and reducing the risk of certain types of cancer. Two powerful antioxidants, vitamins A and C also aid in preventing heart disease and are beneficial for various ailments. Lycopene is an antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the body. Other red fruits and vegetables to include in a colorful diet include: tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, red legumes, cherries, beets, apples, red onions, blood oranges, red grapes, grapefruit, red pears, pomegranates, watermelon, red peppers, radishes, red potatoes, and rhubarb.
Royal Rose would like to share these refreshing salad recipes with home chefs everywhere to encourage everyone to eat their reds all National Salad Month long:
Asian Radicchio Salad
Provided by Fandango Restaurant Pacfic Grove, CA.
2 Large Servings or 4 Starter Servings
Dressing:
•2 Tablespoons fish sauce
•1 Tablespoon brown sugar
•2 Tablespoons lime juice
•2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
•5 shallots, sliced and chopped
•2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
Salad:
• Pomelo
•1/2 cup prawns or bay shrimp, cooked
•1head Royal Rose Radicchio, shredded fin
•1/2 head Romaine, shredded (can add additional Romaine if desired)
Garnish:
•4 Tablespoons chopped scallions
•1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
•2 Tablespoons chopped peanuts or cashew
•10 mint leaves
Methods / Steps
Dressing: Mix fish sauce, lime juice and sugar and mix well.
Salad: Heat oil in frying pan and add shallots and garlic and cook over medium heat until golden. Remove from pan, drain and set aside. Peel the pomelo and remove all membrane to reveal only flesh. Break or shred the flesh into pieces.
Toss all the ingredients together with the dressing. Finish by sprinkling the garnish over the salad.
Recipe also available for printing at Asian Radicchio Salad
Fruited Slaw with Radicchio and Classic Poppy Seed Dressing
Servings 2-4
Salad Ingredients:
•1 head Royal Rose Radicchio, cored and coarsely chopped or shredded
•3 cups shredded green cabbage with carrot
•2 cups seedless green grapes, halved
•1 11-ounce can mandarin orange segments, drained
Dressing: (Shortcut tip: Substitute bottled Poppy Seed Dressing for homemade dressing.)
•5 tablespoons vegetable oil
•4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
•3 tablespoons sugar
•1 teaspoon poppy seed
•1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Garnish:
•4 tablespoons toasted pecan halves
Methods/steps:
Place radicchio, cabbage, grapes and orange in large bowl. In small bowl whisk together all Dressing ingredients, until sugar dissolves. Pour dressing over vegetables; toss well. Place slaw in serving bowl and garnish with pecans. If not serving immediately, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Recipe also available at http://www.radicchio.com/recipe/array/fruited-slaw-with-radicchio-and-classic-poppy-seed-dressing
National Salad Month:
National Salad Month is a holiday celebrated in the United States during the month of May. The Association for Dressings & Sauces (ADS), welcomes National Salad Month and encourages everyone to be creative when incorporating a salad into your healthy eating regimen. The Association for Dressings & Sauces launched National Salad Month in May of 1992, in response to a 1991 Gallup Poll that revealed that three out of four people eat a tossed salad at least every other day. According to polls, salads taste better with salad dressing.
Background On Royal Rose The Company
The “Salad Bowl of the World” gained some much-needed color, flavor and crunch in 1993 with the formation of Royal Rose Radicchio of Salinas, Calif. It proved to be the perfect combination “Old World vegetable meets New World agriculture power” and the results have been delicious.
It all started when Italian farmers Lucio Gomiero and Carlo Boscolo teamed up with Salinas Valley growers in the late 1980s. Gomiero, a winemaker by trade, had the idea of bringing Boscolo’s proprietary seed varieties and 50 years of radicchio growing in Italy to the United States. Gomiero believed there was a new market for this unique and versatile vegetable.
Royal Rose turned a seasonal vegetable into a year-round treat, following the sun through four growing regions to supply the growing market with field-fresh radicchio. Led by company president Dennis Donohue (who also happens to be current mayor of Salinas), Royal Rose has committed to educating consumers about Italian chicories, like Radicchio, and its many applications.
Source: Royal Rose, LLC