THOM EAGLE ON RADICCHIO

The colder it is, the better, says Antonello; five days, a week of frost in the field, drive the dappled colours of his radicchio, the pastel pinks and greens and the deep ox-blood born of the anthocyanins produced by the plants against the cold, brilliant even in the pale light of a January morning.

Having sown the radicchio from saved seed, planted it out in the field, and nurtured it to maturity, other growers are content to pick and send their radicchio to market straight from the field. Antonello and his family, though, occupy one of the last farms in the area to practice sand-forcing, the technique developed in the Veneto which allowed the modern array of radicchio – Grumolo, Rosella di Lusia, speckled Castelfranco, Tardivo – to be bred from bitter green field chicory.

It is, undeniably, hard work. Once the soil has warmed up enough to be workable each plant judged ready must be dug up by the root, checked for damage or imperfections and trimmed of its dark outer leaves ready to be transported to the forcing shed; all of this is done by hand, by Antonello, his wife and his son – it is harder and harder to find people to work on the land, in the cold, at these hard and repetitive tasks.

The forcing shed is a stark contrast to the bright open fields, which stretch out without fences or hedges to the horizon. It is warm, for one thing, warm and humid, heated by an old-fashioned cast iron stove. It is also dark, covered over with blackout curtains and patched in places with bits of blanket.

Each radicchio taken from the field is replanted here in a bed of grey sand and is forced in the dark warmth into a second growth, variegated pinks and whites in place of green. Why do you do it, we ask Antonello, all this work, and he replies with a wry smile and the gesture for “I’m crazy.”

But then he takes a head of bright pink radicchio and snaps it at the stalk – trik-trak, you see, like a crisp – and you see the texture and the colour and the flavour that only comes from this method, the pride in this work.

RADICCHIO AND BURNT LEMON RISOTTO

The vegetable risotto of Veneto relies less on stock and more on the intense flavours of good produce.

INGREDIENTS

4 heads of pink radicchio, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
100ml extra virgin olive oil
300g carnaroli rice
150ml dry white wine
150g aged Asiago, grated
50g Parmesan, grated
100g butter, cubed
1 lemon, halved

METHOD

Gently heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. Add the sliced garlic and cook just until it becomes fragrant, then add the radicchio and season well. Turn up the heat and cook briskly until it wilts.

Meanwhile, bring 1 litre of water to a boil in another pan or in the kettle.

Add the rice to the radicchio pan and sauté briefly until it becomes translucent at the edges, then add the wine and let it boil off, stirring constantly. Now you can turn the heat down and add the boiling water a little at a time, stirring gently but firmly to release the starch in the rice. When most of the water has been added, start to taste the risotto – the rice should be cooked through with a little bite at the centre, but not chalky or raw.

While the risotto is cooking, heat a heavy frying pan and add the lemon cut side down. Cook for around five minutes until well-blackened, then turn the heat down and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Scoop the flesh into a bowl and fish out any pips.

When you are happy with the state of your risotto, take off the heat and add the grated cheese and butter, then cover with a lid and leave for 3 minutes. Beat the melting cheese and butter into the rice – this will ensure a good creamy texture.