Posts Tagged ‘Radicchio’

This recipe traditionally uses Radicchio Tardivo but it is also delicious with Trevisano Precoce.

4 heads of Radicchio Precoce (or Tardivo)
1lt water
1 glass red wine vinegar
1 glass dry white wine
1 tbsp. coarse sea salt
salt and pepper
fresh thyme leaves
juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
100ml balsamic vinegar

Prepare the marinade by mixing the balsamic vinegar, oil, a pinch of salt and pepper and the thyme  leaves.

Wash and cut the radicchio lengthways, making sure to split it from the root (so that the leaves will stay together) in 4 to 6 pieces depending on size.

Boil the water with the wine, wine vinegar and salt. Dip the radicchio and blanch for two minutes. Transfer in a pasta drainer to remove excess water.

Lay on a plate and drizzle with the marinade. Leave to rest in the fridge for at least a day, mixing occasionally.

Serve as a starter, with or without the juice.

Taste: Now in peak season, this radicchio has fleshy red leaves with white ribs that form a compact bunch, perfect for grilling or roasting. Its bitterness is extremely pleasant as a contrast to fatty or powerful flavours.

Region: Our Radicchio Trevisano Precoce is of course from Italy! Specifically it is from Treviso in the Veneto region of Northern Italy, where some of the best radicchio varieties come from.

Quality: We make sure we only offer you the absolute finest grade radicchio available in the market. It is simply incomparable to the radicchio you might find in the salad bag at the supermarket.

Season: Radicchio is a winter leaf, but this “precoce” variety (precoce means “early, precocious” in Italian) is available now almost all year round. It is at its best from the autumn months all the way through the winter.

Cost: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices, but bear in mind you’ll struggle to find this radicchio anywhere else!

Natoora “Radicchio Trevisano Precoce” £1.48/190gr (£7.80 per Kg)

A simple, healthy and delicious recipe to get your January detox off to a tasty start…

Tarocco Nocellara Oranges
Mixed Radicchio
Pumpkin Seeds

First peel the oranges. Slice off the very top and bottom to create flat edges, then run the knife down each side to remove the skin and pith. Segment following the natural lines.

Chop or tear the mixed radicchio. Toss together with the orange segments and some pumpkin seeds.

The juice of the orange should dress the leaves and the sweetness of the oranges will naturally counteract the bitter radicchio leaves. Serve immediately.

Jacob Kenedy is chef and owner of the amazing Bocca di Lupo restaurant in Soho. The venue was awarded Restaurant of the Year in 2008 and first place in Time Out’s Top 50 Restaurants in 2009. As a customer of Natoora, Jacob creates the most superb dishes using our produce and has been kind enough to share this one with us – bone marrow & treviso risotto. You can buy all the ingredients to make this superb dish with our easy recipe kit which contains all the produce required and a recipe card from Jacob. You can also read the full recipe here…

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main course

1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
1 small garlic clove, chopped
75g butter
1 head radicchio di treviso
160g carnaroli rice
160ml barbera d’assti libera wine
360ml beef stock (approx.)
60g bone marrow, diced 5mm (the raw marrow scooped from about half a whole marrow bone)
50g grated parmesan
a drop of goof olive oil

Buy all the ingredients here!

Gently fry the onion, celery and garlic in 50g of the butter with a good pinch of salt until tender – about 10 minutes over a moderate heat. Meanwhile, prepare the radicchio – shred it about 5mm, discarding the stalk. Add the shredded lettuce to the pan and fry for a further 5 minutes until wilted, then add the rice and fry gently for a couple of minutes more. Add 120ml of the wine and cook until it has been absorbed, then add the stock gradually, in small additions, waiting after each for it to be absorbed before pouring in the next.

Cook the risotto quite dry (not very saucy at this stage) and when you are satisfied that the rice is just a minute from being done, stir in the grated parmesan, bone marrow and butter. Stir over the heat until the butter is melted and the marrow largely so and take the pan off the heat. Stir in the remaining wine (the risotto is so rich it needs a little raw alcohol to cut through it) – at this point you can also add a spoonful more stock if needed, as the finished result should be gloopy but pourable. Taste one last time.

Radicchio from Verona has a rich, bitter flavour and can be enjoyed both raw and cooked. Find out why it’s one of our favourites…

Taste: Now in peak season, this radicchio is bitter and crunchy, mellowing when it is braised. It is perfect for salads or makes wonderful risottos as a replacement for the Tardivo variety, which will be in season later on.

Region: Our radicchio from Verona is of course from Italy! Specifically it is originally from Verona in Veneto, but also successfully grown in the neighbouring provinces of Padua and Treviso. All radicchios should come from Veneto, so bear that in mind when you check in the supermarkets.

Quality: We only buy the absolute finest grade radicchio available in the market… It’s in full season at the moment, so you can be sure you get the best, at a very reasonable price!

Cost: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices, but bear in mind you’ll struggle to find this radicchio anywhere else (except maybe chopped in a pre-packed salad bag)!

Natoora “Radicchio from Verona” £4.28/kg or £1.07/250gr

Serves 4

For the crêpes:
500g radicchio from Verona
2 shallots
150ml dry white wine
100g 00 flour
2 eggs
200ml milk
70g butter
30g grated parmesan
salt
pepper

For the bechamel sauce:
1/2 ltr milk
60g butter
50g 00 flour
salt
pepper
nutmeg

In a bowl, mix the eggs with the sifted flour, add the 20gr of melted butter, a pinch of salt and add the milk slowly while mixing continuously. Cook the crêpes in a pan, you should have enough to make 8. Check our blog for instructions on how to cook them.

Wash and dry the radicchio, roughly chop it up and braise in a pan for about 15minutes with 50gr of butter and the finely chopped shallots. Add the wine, adjust seasoning and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Prepare the bechamel: Melt the butter in a pot and add the flour. When lightly golden, add the cold milk, whisking to avoid lumps. Keep stirring on a low heat. It should take about 15 minutes to get to the right consistency. Add salt, pepper and a pinch nutmeg.

Add half of the bechamel to the radicchio, then use this mix to fill your crepes.

Fold them in four and put them on a buttered oven dish. Top with the remaining bechamel and some grated parmesan. Cook for 15 minutes in a very hot oven (220*C). Serve hot!

We’re really proud of our fruit and veg selection at Natoora. Our range includes lots of must try items that you just won’t be able to find in the supermarkets. Here’s just a few of our favourites that are tasting great this month!

	Grumolo Grumolo is a tiny plant from the Radicchio family. Its leaves are thick yet amazingly tender, making it a fantastic addition to salads. The flavour is slightly bitter so try pairing it with some creamy boiled eggs. Grumolo Verde (pictured): Buy now Grumolo Rosso: Buy now
	Radicchio Castelfranco What a stunner! Not only does it look beautiful with its large yellow leaves and tiny red dots, but it tastes amazing too. These slightly bitter leaves will add a spectacular flavour to any salad. The larger leaves can also be blanched and then stuffed with ricotta and walnuts, or you can blanch the hearts and finish in the oven with some butter and parmesan for an amazing gratin. Radicchio Castelfranco: Buy now
	Cedro Our cedros are gigantic at the moment. They are an amazing perfumed citrus mainly used for the preperation of desserts, drinks and candied fruits. It’s got a very thick pith that can be eaten in salads (especially salads with fish!), marinated in its own juice. Cedro: Buy now
	Leafy Sicilian Oranges At the moment these are absolutely amazing! Ours are Tarocco oranges, the variety with the highest vitamin C content, because of the rich volcanic soil of Sicily where they are grown. Very large, full of juice and packed with sweetness, these are definitely worth a try this month. For more information, view our Real Food article. Leafy Sicilian Oranges: Buy now
	Spiky Artichoke This is the Sardinian Variety. The heart is very tender and it’s particularly good eaten raw, thinly sliced in salads or marinated with lemon juice. Spiky Artichokes: Buy now
	Mammole Artichoke The traditional artichoke from Rome, it’s amazing stuffed with a mixture of parsley, mint and garlic, then cooked upside down in a pot with some veg stock. Mammole Artichokes: Buy now

We’ll always let you know what’s tasting great in our weekly picks section. Check out this week’s picks by clicking here!

At Natoora, we love sourcing superb tasting produce that you just won’t be able to find in the supermarket. This week, we’re getting excited about the outstanding Radicchio Trevisano Tardivo. So…what’s all the fuss about?

Cost: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices, but bear in mind you’ll struggle to find this radicchio anywhere else.

Taste: Now in peak season, this radicchio is bitter and spicy, mellowing when it is grilled or roasted. It is sweeter and meatier than other radicchios.

Region: Our radicchio Trevisano Tardivo is of course from Italy! Specifically it is from Treviso in Veneto, where some of the best radicchio varietes come from.

Quality: We only buy the absolute finest grade radicchio available in the market.

Growing: The Tardivo variety comes from the more common radicchio di Treviso. After the first frost, the radicchio undergoes a complicated forcing method. This produces whiter leaves and a unique shape!

For more information and to buy, click here.

Radicchio and Sausage Risotto

Serves 4

175g Radicchio
175g Tuscan Farmer’s Sausage
6 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Shallots
2 Cloves of Garlic
200g Aborio Rice
500ml Chicken Stock
500ml Good Red Wine
25g Butter
30g Parmesan

Skin the sausage then cut into medium-sized chunks. Roll into balls. Now heat the olive oil in a heavy pan and cook the sausage until brown. Finely chop the shallot and add to the pan. Cook until softened. Crush the garlic and cook for about a minute. Add the rice and stir so that it is coated in all those lovely juices. Gradually add the wine, stirring constantly and adding more when as the rice absorbs.

A ladle at a time, add the stock and keep stirring. This will take roughly 25 minutes. After 15 minutes, add the radicchio.

Taste and season, stir in the butter and parmesan, then serve with some extra parmesan on top.

The trees are starting to shed their colourful leaves…

…but at Natoora we’re more interested in the ones found already in the ground. Especially Radicchio, with its vibrant red and white leaves and lovely bitter taste, it is a real autumn star. As versatile as it is striking, radicchio will make an excellent addition to salads, especially with milder leaves such as rocket, but is also sturdy enough to grill or roast.  Even better news, at Natoora this week we have 4 kinds to choose from:

Radicchio Trevisano Precoce: Elongated and conical, often thought of as meatier, holding up better for cooking. Try this variety quartered and grilled with honey and balsamic vinegar.
Radicchio Castelfranco: Beautiful, variegated leaves in a rosette shape. Perfect for salads with its tangy sweet flavour.
Radicchio from Choggia: The round variety, for salads or cooking. Excellent when matched with bold flavours.
Radicchio from Verona: With its rich and bitter flavour, this variety is fantastic in salads or equally at home being grilled.

Happy Eating
Katherine