To prepare our rich and colorful vegetarian grain and vegetable salad, start by boiling the chosen grain (I often vary the type) according to the instructions on the package.

Once cooked, drain it immediately and thoroughly and transfer it to a large bowl to cool slightly.

In the meantime, wash the radicchio, chop it very coarsely, and drain off the excess water.

Pit the olives, chop or slice them coarsely.

Wash a celery stalk and, with the help of a peeler, remove the strings from the stalk; then chop it coarsely.

Also wash the celery leaves (about 0.7 oz is enough) and chop them with a knife very, very finely, together with half a fresh spring onion almost to reduce them to a sort of paste (this will give our salad a very pleasant aroma and flavor).

If you have a mortar, pound together the celery leaves, the spring onion (already coarsely chopped to allow it to blend better and more quickly with the other two ingredients) and a tablespoon of oil until you get a sort of paste, with a more or less creamy consistency, depending on needs and tastes.

Finally, just before dressing the grain salad, wash, peel, and slice or chop the carrots (which can be sprinkled with a teaspoon of lemon juice to prevent them from browning).

Assemble our salad, adding all the other ingredients to the already cooked and slightly cooled grain. Dress with extra virgin olive oil, and fine salt to taste according to personal preferences, optionally enriching with a tablespoon of lemon juice and grated zest or a splash of apple vinegar. Let the salad marinate for an hour before enjoying it, so that the flavors and aromas of the ingredients have time to meld and express themselves at their best.

Bon appetit