Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [248]
Taste the radicchio raw: If you find it more bitter than you’d like, use ½ pound Belgian endive to 1 pound radicchio, a combination that will tip the balance toward milder flavor.
For 4 servings
1½ pounds radicchio
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
¼ pound bacon, cut into narrow strips
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1. If the radicchio root is very long, trim it down and pare the remaining stub all around to expose the tender core. Pull off and discard any blemished outer leaves. If using the elongated variety, or Belgian endive, cut it in half, lengthwise; if using round radicchio, cut it into 4 wedges. Make 3 or 4 parallel, lengthwise incisions in the root end. Wash in several changes of cold water, and spin or shake dry.
2. Choose a saute pan or skillet that can subsequently accommodate all the radicchio and endive, if any, snugly, in a single layer. Put in the olive oil and bacon and turn on the heat to medium. Cook the bacon, turning it occasionally, until its fat dissolves, but without letting it become crisp.
3. Add the radicchio and optional endive, turn it over a few times to coat it well, turn the heat down to low, and cover the pan. Cook until the vegetable feels tender at the base when prodded with a fork, about 25 or 30 minutes, depending on its freshness. Turn it from time to time while it’s cooking.
4. When done, add salt and pepper, turn it in the pan 2 or 3 times, then transfer the entire contents of the pan to a warm platter and serve at once.
Ahead-of-time note It’s possible to cook the dish through to the end several hours in advance. Before serving, reheat gently, but thoroughly, in the pan or in the oven.
Baked Radicchio
THE CLASSIC WAY of cooking radicchio is to grill it over charcoal or in a broiler, following the method used for grilling Belgian endive. But grilling accentuates the bitterness of this vegetable, and one should restrict the procedure to the milder, elongated, late-harvested winter variety. Baking in olive oil, on the other hand, is kinder to radicchio, and can be adopted even for the round, cabbage-like heads.
If you wish, you can mitigate radicchio’s astringency by using it together with Belgian endive, 1 part of the latter to 2 parts of the former, as suggested in the immediately preceding recipe. Of course, you can replace radicchio altogether and use only Belgian endive, which you’ll find to be quite delectable when cooked in this manner.
For 6 servings
About 2 pounds radicchio, preferably the long Treviso variety OR radicchio and endive, as suggested above
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
1. Thirty minutes before you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400°.
2. Trim, split, score, wash, and shake dry the radicchio, or the Belgian endive, as described in the preceding recipe.
3. Choose a baking pan that can accommodate all the vegetable snugly in a single layer. Put it in with the cut side facing down, add salt and pepper, and all the oil, distributing it evenly.
4. Put the pan in the preheated oven. Turn the radicchio and optional endive over after 10 minutes, cook another 6 or 7 minutes, and turn it again. Cook it for about 10 minutes longer, until its base feels tender when prodded with a fork. Allow to settle a few minutes before serving. It is also good at room temperature.
Ahead-of-time note Baked radicchio can be made several hours in advance and reheated in the oven before serving.
Spinach Sautéed with Olive Oil and Garlic
IF A SINGLE Italian vegetable dish deserves to be called classic, it is this version of spinach, which epitomizes the simplicity, directness, and heartiness that know no regional