A staple on Mediterranean and European tables, radicchio is now an American salad staple.
Radicchio (a red variety of chicory) looks like red cabbage, but it’s actually a chicory family member. It is the Italian word for all members of the chicory clan, whether green, cream red, striped or marbled. All radicchio begins as green leafy clusters. Some gradually turns red and changes shape; some doesn’t. All resist reddening without sufficiently cold temperatures. Radicchio is inconsistent, growing its own way (shape, size and color) regardless of how you try to train it into predictable forms and categories.  The farmers of Veneto, Italy, have made an art of growing the independent vegetable and up until the late eighties, when two Italian farmers got the plant to take root in California, almost all radicchio in the United States was imported. So far, it seems to be doing well in Franklin County!

Basic use: Radicchio is perfect for the salad bowl, used as a garnish or to enhance a platter of crudités as dipping or cupping tools. It is best mixed with other leaves, for its bitterness can be overbearing and monotonous.  Radicchio is also delicious cooked. Sauté slivered leaves briefly in olive oil, then fold into pasta or beans or sautéed vegetables. Most recipes for flat-leaf endive (escarole), Belgian endive, and curly endive (chicory or frisée) are suitable for radicchio.
Storage: For optimum quality, keep radicchio in plastic at the coldest refrigerator temperature for no more than a week. When it will be cooked, radicchio can be kept longer, although bitterness seems to increase in storage, the leaves will look fine for weeks.

Nutritional Value: Radicchio: This food is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Zinc, and a very good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Folate, Potassium, Copper and Manganese. Nutrtional Data

Penne with Roasted Chicken and Radicchio

Radichhio Salad with Oranges and Olives

Balsamic Glazed Chicken with Grilled Radicchio

Radicchio and Endive Salad with Pecan Vinaigrette

Basil and radicchio salad

If you have a great recipe, please email us!