Baked Radicchio

Although it is great in a salad – sweet and bitter at the same time – in the cold winter months, radicchio trevisano is better cooked, and has a more resilient texture. Traditionally paired with speck – boneless, smoked prosciutto – radicchio makes a great risotto (see Risotto with Radicchio) and a great sauce for pasta. In those dishes, the radicchio serves a secondary role as a distinctive flavoring but when baked this way, it is the main protagonist. I enjoy baked radicchio by the mouthful, savoring its taste and texture, sweet, bitter and crunchy.
The best variety for baking is the long thin radicchio Trevisano (as shown in the photos) but the small, round heads most often found in the supermarket – known rosa di Chioggia in the Veneto – or the kind with long but wide leaves (resembling purple Romaine lettuce), are also delicious baked this way. Serve as an antipasto or vegetable course, over soft or baked polenta.