Red Radicchio. The elegant Veneto poem that has conquered the world.

Also known as “fiore d’inverno” (winter flower), this extraordinary gift of the earth so commonly used in international cuisine is the pride and joy of the Veneto region, to which it is native.

« (…) Caminavo fiaco                                                                           « (…) As I walked listlessly
In mezo a quela zente                                                                          Amid all those busy
Indafarada e contenta                                                                          and happy people,
Quando che l’ocio                                                                                 My eye
El s’ha fermà de boto:                                                                           suddenly fell
in te ‘na vetrineta,                                                                                 on a shop window,
ben in mostra,                                                                                       Where in full view
ghe gera un bel çestel                                                                          lay a wonderful basket
de radici rosso fogo.                                                                            Of bright red radicchio.

Me son fermà … li go vardai …                                                             I stopped…. and stared…
No’ me pareva vero.                                                                              It couldn’t be true.
Radici trevisani? …                                                                               Radicchio di Treviso?
Se me ga verto ‘l cuor,                                                                          My heart burst open,
l’emossion la gera granda … (…) »                                                      as I was overcome with joy… (…) »

From the poem Un fìa de la me tera by Alberto Albanese Jr. (1969)

With these words the Treviso-born poet Alberto Albanese Jr. expressed the joy provoked by the sight of a bunch of red radicchios in Switzerland, during his emigrant years. Even the much-loved radicchio had made it over the Alps in those years in search of its fortune – which is exactly what it found, thanks also to the many Italian emigrants who took the vegetable with them and gave an example of its use. Today radicchio is an international constant in mixed salads and other exported Italian recipes. In Veneto it is a little prince in its own right, guarded by an army of consortiums and represented in shows by its ambassadors.

Where does radicchio originally come from and why is it so typically from Veneto?

The plant derives from wild chicory. A primitive version was already known to the Ancient Romans at the time of Pliny the Elder (23 – 79 B.C.). Radicchio is typical of the Veneto region because it requires soil with a high clay and sand content of alluvial origin and a continental clime.
At any rate, radicchio in its present form, which is treated with blanching and preforcing techniques, originated in the Treviso area in more recent times. The earliest documentary evidence of its existence is found in the Agricultural Almanac of 1862, though more uncertain sources suggest the presence of radicchio in Veneto as far back as the mid-1500s.
It is quite likely that the blanching technique used with radicchio, as reported in the Agricultural Almanac of 1862, which consists of the enzymatic transformation of the plant by placing it in a dark, damp environment, was first developed by the Belgian agronomist Van den Borre in the Veneto region. Having moved to Dosson, a village in the Treviso area, he tested a technique that had already been trialled on Belgian endive to the locally-grown leaf vegetable. The result was quite obviously a fortunate success.
Nevertheless, other stories exist to explain how this prestigious product from Treviso came about, some of which are particularly evocative, such as the legend of the birds that brought radicchio to Dosson, leaving seeds at the top of the church tower, or the forgetful farmer who left his radicchio harvest in a dark, damp, and warm shed, involuntarily inventing the blanching process.
The many legends, each more or less credible, that surround the story of the radicchio simply add to the value and prestige of a renowned product of excellent quality.

What are the various varieties of radicchio and how are they used in cuisine?

The first variety is the prized Red Radicchio di Treviso, followed by the Variegato Castelfranco, Chioggia, and Verona. Most of these plants produce radicchio that is ready for harvest either early, at the beginning of autumn, or late, in the middle of winter. The latter are also known by the name “fiori d’inverno” – literally ‘winter flowers’ – and all have red, crunchy leaves with a slightly bitter taste.
The family tree tracing the genealogy of this prized plant places the Red Radicchio di Treviso at the top, from which all other radicchio varieties then evolved, crossed spontaneously by nature or crossbred or selected by phenotype by farmers.
The humble climatic conditions of the region characterised by freezing winters and hot summers produce a vegetable that is delicate in form and sophisticated in taste, and which lends itself to many different recipes. Locally it is traditionally used in delicious risottos and many other dishes that share the use of the delicious Red Radicchio di Treviso.
This choice vegetable, however, is not only used within the limits of the imagination in many exquisite recipes, many of which lie at the heart of Treviso cuisine, such as grilled radicchio and radicchio risotto, but also to make many other products that use the radicchio as their most distinctive ingredient.
Such delicacies include radicchio-based spreads and sauces to accompany tagliolini and other traditional home-made pasta varieties – including radicchio-flavoured pasta, as well as special preserves and mustards that use this prized leaf vegetable from Treviso as their main delicious ingredient.