Radicchio
PART THREE OF THE LUCKY DIP - A PURPLE FOOD
Well reddish purple. So good for you - see my previous article. So I won't go on about the health benefits.
Except that Pliny the Elder - way back in Roman times was saying it was a blood purifier and good for insomniacs - and lo and behold, apparently it contains something called intybin which is a sedative/analgesic. Those Romans certainly knew more than we give them credit for.
In spite them knowing about it way back then, it wasn't cultivated commercially until the fifteenth century - in Italy and specifically in the Veneto area around Venice in Italy's north east. Wikipedia says that a Belgian agronomist developed a method of encouraging the dark colour by uprooting the plant when half grown and placing it in water in a darkened shed. But the article then goes on to talk about its cultivation as if this doesn't happen. So I don't really know whether they still do it.
It is a kind of chicory - or endive - or witlof - take your pick as to name - it depends where you are. And it has a bitter taste. It's expensive and trendy and as you can see from the picture above (and below) comes in a variety of forms.
This picture shows it as a variant of what we here in Australia call witlof, but which, back in England, I called chicory. Maybe it's this form that is put in the darkened shed.
Apparently, in spite of it being a pretty trendy ingredient, there is not a lot of research into it going on - and most of that is in New Zealand. Now there's an odd little fact.
I really like it because of the bitter taste, and you can do a lot of interesting things with it apart from putting it in salad. I have tried to assemble a few of them here, because it's a little bit different.
Salad is obviously the first use and this is how it came to be on my blog - it was the page I opened in my delicious menus book - Radicchio Caesar Salad. And you can find it online by clicking the name. There is also another very trendy salad on Yotam Ottolenghi's website - Bittersweet salad. He is the chef of the moment and this is one of his prettiest dishes (shown below) - recommended for St. Valentine's Day apparently.
A quick look at other celebrity chef sites showed that it is often used with blue cheese, feta and rocket. Ottolenghi has blood oranges (another very trendy thing with limited availability and high price), and pomegranates - ditto.
Anyway here are a few more recipes from the web:
Charred radicchio with sweet and sticky balsamic and bacon - I'm amazed it's not pancetta rather than bacon! Note 'charred' and that other super trendy ingredient - balsamic. Looks interesting though. For your next barbecue maybe?
And finally there is recipe in Maggie Beer's Harvest book. She has a few good recipes for radicchio, but there are only a couple online. I'm copying this one out for you. No picture either I'm afraid. But it sounded yummy to me - though I recognise that it may not be to everyone's taste - anchovies, and maybe a little bitter. It's a bit complicated but showy and different.
PASTA WITH BAKED WITLOF AND RADICCHIO (serves 4-6)
6 cloves garlic, extra virgin olive oil for cooking, 3 plump witlof, 2 heads radicchio, sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, 2 sprigs thyme, 12 thin slices mild pancetta, 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar or vino cotto, 500g penne, 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, 1 x 45 tin anchovies, drained, squeeze lemon juice, 125 g freshly shaved Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 220ºC. Caramelise the garlic slowly in a small saucepan over low heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the witlof and the radicchio into quarters lengthways, then toss them in a bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, pepper and the thyme. Crisp the pancetta slices on a baking tray in the oven, not too close together, for 10 minutes, then drain on kitchen paper.
Bake the witlof and radicchio, spread out on a shallow baking tray with the caramelised garlic and brushed with a little more olive oil if necessary, for 10 minutes. The cut surfaces of the vegetables will have begun to caramelise. Turn the vegetables, then cook for another 10-15 minutes or until cooked through. Sprinkle with the balsamic or vino cotto and return to the oven for 5 minutes.
To cook the pasta, bring plenty of salted water to the boil in a tall saucepan. Slide the pasta gently into the pan, then partially cover with a lid to bring it to a rapid boil. Take the lid off and cook the pasta following the instructions on the packet (the cooking times can differ), stirring to keep it well separated - a tablespoon of olive oil in the water can help this too. If using fresh pasta, it only needs to cook for about 3 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water in case you want to moisten the completed dish. Do not run the pasta under water or you'll lose the precious starch the helps the sauce or oil adhere.
Toss the pasta with the hot vegetables, pancetta, parsley, anchovies, lemon juice and a sprinkling of extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately with the shaved Parmegiano Reggiani.
And don't forget curly endive - also related and also with the same bitter taste. Also yummy and good in salads with radicchio.
