18 Oct Radicchio slaw and memories of Treviso

Radiccios past

I discovered radicchio at a little market in Treviso sometime in the early 2000s. A close friend of mine lived there with her Italian boyfriend for a few years and I would visit her at least once a year. At the market, the boyfriend proudly explained that radicchio is grown this area of Italy only. He then proceeded to make a sausage and radicchio risotto for dinner. I copied this risotto recipe many times since. However, since having children, we haven’t eaten radicchio much. Once, I attempted to introduce them to it, but the reaction was a firm negative and I can understand why. Radicchio is, of course, quite bitter.

Radiccio present

On finding a radicchio in my Riverford box this week, all the old memories of Treviso came flooding back. Drinking prosecco at midday in tiny winebars where you have to stand at the bar; eating at various agriturismo; the little pizzeria we used to go to that had only two types of paper-thin pizza… I must admit that it made me pine for Italy a little, especially since the beauty and strength of its people has been so visible in the past weeks. However, I decided against making the risotto, which takes some time. I decided that we are more likely to eat a slaw. And we did, though predictably it was the adults who ate it. The bitter taste of radicchio paired beautifully with the sweetness of dried apricots, carrots and toasted almonds. I imagine that it would go exceedingly well with a good balsamic vinegar too, but I didn’t have any on hand.

A recipe for radicchio slaw