by Ashley Bartner
What to do with radicchio? Sauteed with cherry tomatoes and piled high atop crostini!
Ok, so what is radicchio? If you once thought it was just a purple lettuce, think again. Its an ancient leafy vegetable in the chicory family. Radicchio has a bitter and spicy taste, which mellows when it is grilled or roasted. Its commonly found throughout Italy and we grow it on our farm too! Radicchio is such as versatile ingredient — eaten raw, grilled with olive oil or in risotto.
Here's a quick and easy recipe to enjoy this under rated leafy veg, you can use this topping as crostini, atop grilled chicken or try it in a frittata.
Radicchio Crostini
Ingredients
Radicchio, core removed, sliced
4-5 Cherry tomatoes, halved
1 Clove of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper
Soft cheese (we use stracchino a soft cows milk cheese)
Toasty bread
Directions
1. In a frying pan heat 3-4 glugs of olive oil and gently fry the clove of garlic. Once brown, remove garlic.
2. Raise the heat, add radicchio, season with salt & pepper and saute for 3-4 minutes as the radicchio will cook down a bit.
3. Add the cherry tomatoes and lower the heat to medium-low. Gently cook everything down, letting the tomatoes wilt about 10 minutes. It may be necessary to add a spoonful or two of water if it looks like its drying out.
4. Taste and check your salt & pepper.
5. Turn off heat & allow to cool. Add a healthy drizzle of extra virgin olive oil over top and mix in.
6. Toast your bread slices. Spread layer of soft cheese & spoonful of radicchio mixture.
Tutti a tavola — everyone to the table!
Ashley Bartner is living the foodie dream in Italy. Together with her Chef-husband Jason, they own and run La Tavola Marche an organic farm, inn and cooking school in Central Italy's region of Le Marche.
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