Vegetables
Recipe for Basil Magazine – Pipérade revisited with polenta crostino and quail egg
Aug 1st
Recette pour le Magazine Basil – Pipérade revisitée, crostino de Polenta et oeuf de caille
I was thrilled to submit this recipe to Basil Magazine, an online magazine on food and lifestyle, since I have had my interview published in their August publication. Check it out. Viktoria Williams their Editor-in-Chief asked me to be a part of their contributing chefs, and will do so, submitting a few recipes a month. I selected this “Pipérade Revisited” a colorful dish, simply because it really represents what Citron et Vanille is all about…French, Italian, Mediterranean cuisine with a contemporary twist, using local ingredients.
Pipérade is a traditional Basque recipe (piper meaning pepper in Occitan language) made with Basque peppers, Piment d’Espelette, onions and tomatoes. I twisted it a little to adapt the whole dish with local ingredients and make it a little less traditional with the quail egg. I also used poblano peppers that are a great alternative to Basque peppers and widely available in California.
Usually the egg is added at the end of the cooking process inside the pipérade, I added mine on top of the polenta crostino. The Jambon de Bayonne (a basque cured ham) is also traditionally cooked and added inside the pipérade. I used Serrano ham, but prosciutto di parma works perfectly fine too. In this version, I grilled the ham and added on the side.
For the crostino, polenta has been cooked in a broth infused with thyme and finished with Basque sheep cheese such as Etorki, but Petit Basque can be a fair alternative if you cannot find Etorki. I topped it all with the cutest of all the eggs, quail egg. I love to substitute quail eggs to regular eggs, they do add an elegant finish to a small bite. This is a very versatile dish, you can serve it as a canape, an appetizer, then you need about 2 per person or make bigger crostoni and serve it as a main course. On fait comme on veut! we do as we please! Now knowing how much I adore making small bites, that’s how I serve mine.
For the polenta, you can use the express polenta, or the regular one which takes over one hour to prepare. It’s up to you, if you have time or not. The express polenta is an alternative when the focus of a dish is not on polenta like this one, and is an add-on.
Hope you enjoy it!
Back to Provence – Tian Provencal and tapenade tartine
Jul 24th
De retour en Provence – Tian Provençal et tartine de tapenade
Tian is a traditional dish from Provence, and should be made in a clay dish…since I just broke mine, I had to use a Pyrex one. The vegetables are sliced thinly, placed upright and cooked in the oven for a long time. You can add goat cheese as well, but I wanted to keep it vegan and light, so to get additional Mediterranean flavors, I served it with a tapenade tartine. This is a very simple dish to make yet delicious due to the slow cooking of the vegetables and all the herbs that have infused in it.
Of course, there are various recipes for tian, some people don’t add onions, but fennel, or potatoes, but tomatoes, zucchini and eggplants should always be around. You can play around with herbs, cheese, etc…but I wanted to keep it simple. Sometimes I like simple flavors and don’t want to add too many intricate and complex flavors into a dish. The slow cooking turned the vegetable almost “confits” in the herbs and own juices.
Usually tians are served with grilled meats or fishes, they add wonderful aromas to a dish. I have to admit that I ate the whole tian by myself and was still hungry. Usually this would be sufficient for four, if you serve it with a fish or meat, or also rice in case you want to keep it vegetarian. It really depends on how much vegetables your guests can eat. Quand on aime, on ne compte pas, that’s what the French say, when you love, you don’t count…which is true for many things. The tapenade tartine is a nice element if you want to keep your meal vegan, that olive spread is simply divine with this tian.
Ingredients for 3-4
- 3 large tomatoes, sliced crosswise
- 3 zucchini, sliced crosswise
- 2 medium eggplants, sliced crosswise
- 1 onion,
- lavender salt
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
- 1 tsp basil, chopped finely
- 2 tbs olive oil
- pepper
For the tapenade, see recipe here
Preparation
Spread some olive oil, all over the dish, preferably a clay dish.
Place all vegetables upright in the dish, alternating between a slice of tomato, two slices of zucchini (since the zucchini tend to be smaller), one slice of eggplant, and onion. The vegetables need to be tightly arranged so they stand still.
Add herbs and garlic, sprinkle with lavender salt and pepper. Add olive oil all over the vegetables.
Cover with aluminium foil and cook in a pre heated oven at 365-370 for about 40-45 minutes. Remove the foil and let the vegetables get golden brown.
I can play the mandoline – Zucchini tagliatelle with spicy chick pea tomato sauce
May 7th
Posso suonare il mandolino – Tagliatelle di zucchine con salsa al pomodoro, ceci e origano
I bought a new mandoline before I would slice a few of my fingers, one day I cut the tip of my index while shaving fennel and had to go to the emergency room, so my new mandoline is much better and safer, and in the kitchen safety is somehow an important part of the whole game.
With my new De Buyer (being faithful to European made utensils because I know them better, I had to buy a French one, actually I have Japanese knives that are incredible) and one of the great feature of this mandoline is that you can adjust the thickness of the cut by twisting the handle from left to right or right to left. The blade is lightly dented so you can get a very thin and sharp cut, or a thick (and still sharp) cut, even on soft fruits and vegetables like very ripe kiwis or oranges.
So to try out my new mandoline, I wanted to make a whole dish with sliced vegetables because I just felt like playing with it. I’m sure I am not the only one who loves to play with a brand new toy. When I buy new clothes, I have to wear them right away, even if I have to run to the store buy salt, I can wear a brand new silk shirt just for the simple pleasure to wear something new. When it comes to kitchen utensils, it’s the same. What to do with 12 zucchini and a mandoline? well you just go crazy and slice them to make tagliatelle. So here they are…
My mom makes an traditional Italian dish made with pasta and chick peas so I used her tomato sauce twisting it around a little and used it on the zucchini tagliatelle. I really loved this dish, it’s savory, fragrant due to the oregano, light and nutritious, so how can you say no to that? This is a fairly simple dish, with a few ingredients which most of the time, if you have great quality ingredients, turns out delicious. You can taste all the ingredients in one bite and it all blends in a beautiful symphony of flavors.
For the tomato purée, I used the imported Italian tomato sauce from Parmalat, it’s just crushed tomatoes with nothing else added, they have quite a un-acidic flavor unlike some other tomatoes. Parmalat is a very famous brand in Italy and I knew them for their dairy products and mainly milk that was sold in card board like here they would sell orange juice, which healthier to use than canned tomatoes. I was excited to be able to find the Parmalat tomatoes. Grazie Parmalat! You can use fresh tomatoes too, but they need to be of good quality or the sauce will not be as good.
Ingredients for 2-3 as a side dish
- 6 zucchini sliced lengthwise
- 7 oz (or 200 g) cooked chick peas
- 10 oz (or 300 g) good quality crushed tomato or fresh tomatoes
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1 garlic clove
- cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper
- fresh shaved parmesan for garnish
Preparation
Start preparing the sauce. In a small pot, heat olive oil, add garlic, stir for about 30 seconds, then oregano. After about 1 minutes (watch out not to burn the garlic) add 1 cup tomatoes, salt, pepper and cayenne. Add wine. Let the sauce cook until the water has evaporated, add chick peas and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Using the mandoline, slice zucchini lenghtwise in about 2mm ribbons. Bring salted water to a boil, add zucchini and cook for about 30 seconds. Drain, and carefull pat dry with a towel, making sure not to break the zucchini. Add to the tomato sauce, stir carefully. Add extra oregano, and serve with sahved parmesan on top.
A Goat in the kitchen – Cauliflower and leek gratin with goat milk
Apr 6th
Une chèvre dans la cuisine – Gratin de chou fleur et poireaux au lait de chèvre
I forgot how DMV can be a nightmare, waiting for your number 389 when the current number is 210 can be the story of an afternoon. So people bring balls to play with, and all kinds of entertainment to spend three to four hours. I somehow like to observe people, it’s certainly more interesting to observe people sur la terrasse d’un café, in a cafe terrace with a coffee in your hands, so when your hands are holding nothing more than a number, patience becomes a virtue and people looking becomes one too.
I had prepared this gratin in advance so it just needed to be gratiné when I got home and that’s the beauty of gratins, you can prepare them in advance and throw them in the oven when ready to be served.
I have used goat milk in soufflés and in the béchamel when preparing gratins that turned out lighter with a more delicate touch than with cow milk, and partly due to the fact that goat milk is lighter to digest than regular milk. You can slightly taste to goat milk which is not as strong as in cheeses. Basically you can replace goat milk in many dishes using cow milk. Gratins are very common in France and can be made with any vegetable.
Gratin can be considered a plat unique (a one meal dish), and universally appreciated, it’s certainly a meal in itself with a side salad. If you feel like something hot with a golden crust, stop thinking, this is it. Some people are fighting to eat the crispy crust while others are fighting to get to the soft melting middle. What type of gratin eater are you? I am definitely a crust lover, but would not mistreat the middle either. No matter how you eat it, gratins always evoke a comforting and warm cuisine that everyone loves.
I would use premium gruyère cheese that melts well and leaves a nice golden crust the quality of the cheese is important and will make a great difference in the texture of your gratin. Also, you could add a little goat cheese as well instead of adding gruyère in the mixture but gruyère on top is a must if you want a golden and melting crust.
Ingredients for 2-3
- 1 medium cauliflower, broken into florets
- 1 leek, cut in 1 inch chunks
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 3 tbs butter
- 1.5 tbs flour
- 1.5 cup goat milk
- 5 tbs imported Gruyère cheese
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Heat olive oil in a pan, add shallots and brown them. Add leeks, adjust with salt and pepper and cover with lid until leeks are tender.
Cook cauliflower in salted boiling water until cooked but still firm. Drain and set aside.
Start preparing the béchamel by melting butter, then adding flour. Stir well. Add milk, salt and pepper and reduce temperature to medium heat. Keep stirring until the mixture starts thickening. Cook for a few minutes until it has reached a nice consistency, but should not be too thick.
Using individual ramequins or one larger dish, add one layer of leeks, then add one layer of cauliflower and end with another layer of leeks. Sprinkle with 1 tbs gruyère cheese (or goat cheese for each ramequin) and pour béchamel. Try to coat your vegetables with cheese and bechamel by mixing the vegetables carefully. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese, grind fresh pepper and cook in a pre-heated oven at 370F for about 30 minutes or until the gratin has reached a golden brown color.
Fresh is so fresh – Eggplant caviar on tomato tartare and olive balsamic vinaigrette
Apr 4th
Caviar d’aubergine sur tartare de tomates, vinaigrette d’olives noires et balsamique
Caviar d’aubergine is a typical French dish, but it does not mean it includes caviar in its ingredient list, it’s basically a vegan dish if you don’t add the parmesan on top. Eggplant caviar is made out of eggplants roasted in the oven and reduced into a purée with herbs and garlic. Of course there are various variations of eggplant caviar. You can add herbes de Provence instead of just thyme, or lavender. I’ve had close friends who don’t like eggplants and loved this dish, so I guess it’s a way to initiate the non eggplant lovers to this wonderful vegetable.
Tartare describes a way of preparing ingredients, like you have tuna tartar, and salmon tartar where the fishes have been cut in tiny cubes, then marinated. In this case, the tomato is peeled, cut in small cubes, marinated with herbs and olives and finally placed in the refrigerator for about an hour. So that is called a tartare.
You can make nice presentations with the contrasts of colors, the red, the green, the white and light brown, it looks very summery and fresh. Being such a light and pretty dish, with contrasts of flavors and textures, you can serve it as a light appetizer, it will put you or your guests en appétit (in appetite) for the next courses, it’s screaming, I’m hungry now and I want more! I love this dish, it’s fresh, light, full of flavors and textures and so far everyone who tasted loved it too. Ca sent les vacances!
Ingredients for 4
- 5 medium size tomatoes
- 1 large size eggplant
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- juice of 1 small meyer lemon
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- pepper
- arugula and shaved parmesan for garnish
For the vinaigrette
- 1 tbs kalamata olives, chopped
- 1 tsp capers, chopped (optional)
- 1 tsb parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Cut eggplants in two lenghtwise. Using a knife, make three incisions from top to bottom of eggplant. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Place on top of parchment paper, placing the flat surface down. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 390F for about 30 minutes or until eggplants are soft. Remove from oven and let cool.
Using a spoon, remove eggplant flesh making sure to drain the water and remove the peel. Place in a mixing bowl. Using a blender, blend eggplant with garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Let it cool.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, and add tomatoes for about 10 seconds, drain, peel, remove the seeds and cut tomatoes in small cubes. Remove excess water.
Refrigerate tomatoes for about 30 minutes.
Mix vinaigrette ingredients all together and add to tomatoes. Spare some vinaigrette to add at the end. Mix well.
Using a rind, place tomatoes layer on your plate, then spoon one tbs of eggplant caviar on top, add shaved parmesan and arugula.
Come here little turnip – Turnips stuffed with mushrooms, spinach, roquefort and walnuts
Mar 30th
Petit navet, viens par ici – Navets farcis au champignons, épinards, roquefort et noix
Aren’t those irresistible? Turnips tend to be forgotten as a vegetable, even though often used in soups. In France we eat turnips in so many ways, and we even use their leaves in soups. I love turnips, they have a peppery taste and are equally delicious, roasted with lavender salt, braised, or even steamed. They always make great presentations and combine tons of wonderful flavors. Stuffed turnips like any other root vegetable are delicious, I rarely make them, once in a while I get that particular urge, but it’s rare.
Navet in French means of course turnip, but also can be used in a more familiar language to refer to a bad movie, quel navet! meaning, what a lousy movie!
One block down the street, we have a “fruit and vegetable barn” a great little grocery store filled with fresh fruits and vegetables of all kinds, owned by a very funny Greek guy, who sometimes works at the cash register making jokes with its clients. This morning he started singing La Marseillaise (the French anthem) as soon as he saw me, then gave me a bunch of gossips about the French president Sarkozy. Since I am not following the teledrama, I had no idea of what was going on, but he seemed to be well au courant! I told him I came to get some turnips and one was going to be for him because I was very impressed by his “knowledge”…no matter what, it is still knowledge!
Ingredients for 6 turnips
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 6 medium sized turnips, peeled
- 6-7 medium size mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 cup cooked spinach, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tbs Roquefort cheese or Stilton, crumbled
- 2 tbs walnuts, finely chopped
- butter
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
After peeling the turnips cut the top and start removing the inside with a small scoop or melon baller. Chop finely and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a pan, brown the onions, then add mushrooms and chopped turnips. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, then add spinach. Add garlic, stir well and cook for a few minutes. Adjust with salt and pepper
In the meantime, cook turnips for about 5-10 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain and remove excess water.
In a mixing bowl, combine mushroom mixture with walnuts, and Roquefort.
Fill in the turnips with mixture. Cook in a 370F pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes add a small piece of butter on top of each turnip and let it melt and brown for another 10 minutes.
Serve hot with a salad, as a side dish, or any way you want to enjoy them!
Artichokes are back in town – Tagine of artichokes, chickpeas, potatoes, red peppers and olives
Mar 8th
Les artichauts sont de retour – Tagine d’artichauts, pois chiches, pommes de terre, poivrons, et olives vertes
It looks like artichoke season is starting and you see them come out on the shelves, one of the largest producer being close to the Bay Area in Castroville (they claim to be the artichoke capital of the world, which is quite a big statement, but they certainly do produce a lot of them), we have in San Francisco, lots of beautiful artichokes, the babies, the medium, the large, you pick which one you want. I even planted some in the garden, but seems like it takes over 300 days for them to grow, so I cannot count on my own crops this year!
I had some fresh chick peas left from last week and I just wanted to use them in a tagine. They remain green and taste so good but cook very quickly so when using them in a dish, they only need to cook for 15 minutes or so, therefore add them at the end. I love tagines, I could eat them every day. The flavors of all the spices infusing with all those wonderful vegetables is a pure pleasure to cook (and to eat of course too). After 10 minutes of placing the tagine in the oven, the house starts to be filled with incredibly aromas. It’s like a pure perfume. Ca embaume.
As in the majority of my tagines, I used Ras el hanout which is a traditional mix of Moroccan spices and literally means “the roof of the grocery store” in arabic. A few common spices included in Ras el hanout are cardamom, mace, cloves, nutmeg, pepper, lavender, ginger, nigella, turmeric, etc..but so many more. It’s used in Middle Eastern cuisine to enhance many dishes such as couscous, meat dishes, etc…
The composition of Ras el hanout can vary from 24 to 21 spices but can go as far as 40 spices, so there are so many variations of Ras el hanout as there are cooks, manufacturers and tastes. I bought a big bag of spices in a Moroccan grocery store in France that will last me my lifetime, and that is a very nice blend, not one spice overpowering the mix, and a very well balanced combination. Unfortunately the manufacturer did not include the list of the spices he used, so I am afraid I won’t be able to know what has been used and to what quantity. In France we have a huge Arabic population, probably the biggest among all other European countries, which means a lot of stores with great products and very inexpensive.
Anyone who loves artichokes and spices, will really enjoy this dish, besides the beauty of tagines is that it might take you a while to clean the artichokes, and peel the potatoes, but then you just put it in the oven and cooks by itself, comme une grande fille!
Ingredients for 4
- 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut in big squares
- 8 medium size artichokes, trimmed
- 5 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 large red bell pepper, cut in big square
- 1 cup fresh chick peas
- 1.5 tbs Ras el hanout
- 1 preserved lemon, cut in 4 quarters
- 1/2 cup green olives, cut in halves
- chili powder
- salt and pepper
Preparation
In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients together except for the chick peas and using your hands mix well.
Place the vegetables in your tagine pot, cover and cook in a pre-heated oven at 390F for about one 1h30 min. Add chick peas 20 minutes before removing tagine from the oven. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve as a side dish or as a main dish, with a quinoa or couscous accompaniment.
Could it be oyster plant? – Simple salsifis salad
Feb 12th
Simple salade de salsifis
You probably don’t care about salsifis and there is nothing extraordinary about the recipe. It’s all about the salsifi. Sometimes I like to feature some unpopular vegetables like this one, it’s a root vegetable that people tend to forget like cardoon, so I thought to bring it back from the deads.
I have not had those for such a long time, I have been eating salsifis when I was a child, their consumption is quite common in France but nowadays even there people tend to forget them.
I have just seen some of those at the store today and it just reminded me that I had forgotten to post those while in France.
Basically, they are a long root and have a thick brown skin, their flesh is quite white and they taste like artichoke to me, but some people say it tastes more like oysters so that’s how they got their name from. Honestly I have seen no similarities between an oyster and a salsifi.
You would need to wear gloves when peeling it since its flesh tends to stain hands and the flesh and skin are quite sticky, somehow like a glue. So I’m sure you wondering then, why even bother. Well, there is a good reason to include salsifi in your diet, they contain a lot of minerals and vitamins and are a wonderful vegetable with low calories and lots of fibers, so I think we should re-introduce it in our diet. You can make gratins with them, quiches, I have aslo tasted them in stew and are quite delicious. When preparing them simply like this, you need top quality olive oil, and the juice of a fragrant lemon such as meyer lemons.
Ingredients
- one bunch of salsifis (maybe 10)
- 1.5 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of one lemon
- freshly ground pepper
- Fleur de sel
- Parsley, finely chopped (optional)
Preparation
Peel salsifis. Cook in boiling water for about 7 min, or until cooked but not mushy. Drain and sprinkle with vinaigrette, top with pepper and fleur de sel.
On the light side – Quick and fake vegetable moussaka
Jan 13th
Du côté léger – Moussaka rapide aux lentilles
This post is overdue, I started it before I went to Tel Aviv, but never managed to finish it, so after days of wonderful fresh food, I came back to France where the bad weather conditions made me want to go back to sunny Israel. There is definitely a Greek flair to Tel Aviv, probably the Mediterranean climate and fresh produce you find all over the markets. So Moussaka here we come.
What if you feel like moussaka without meat? People might tell you, then it’s not moussaka. So not to upset anyone, I just decided to use the word fake, even though it is prepared in the same “spirit” as a moussaka.
Since I arrived at my parents, meat, prosciutto, pâté, fois gras and other ingredients have been around the table for the holidays, and I don’t know now how I have to explain my mom that I do not enjoy to eat meat THAT much. Seems like she doesn’t believe me, or doesn’t want to believe me. So I had to somehow cook something for them today, to make them believe that vegetarian dishes are quite tasty and enjoyable. France is certainly not the country for vegetarians, and Italians are not vegetarian either, so I am just wondering if you are a vegan how you will survive here.
We went shopping to a wonderful organic supermarket with so many amazing products called “La Vie Saine” (healthy life) and came back with tons of great healthy products, I am trying to make them eat less animal based products but it’s quite a challenge to change people’s habits in their late 60s. I don’t want to change anything nor anyone but at least make them enjoy other cuisines. My parents are quite open in trying new cuisines and a lot more open minded than some other French or Italians of their generation.
So I found a lentil mix of red, green, and beluga lentils that I absolutely wanted to use, then I had eggplants, so I figured that a vegetarian moussaka would be perfect…and they really enjoyed it. So I will make this dish more often.
I am not sure there is a morale in this story, probably not but I was very happy that my vegetarian moussaka was successful in a traditional Italian and French table!
Ingredients for 4-5
- 1/2 lb (or 250 g) green lentils
- 1 yellow onion, cut in half
- 3 cloves
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stick
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 eggplants, sliced crosswise
- 5 medium size tomatoes, seedless, peeled and chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 7 oz (or 200 g) gruyère cheese, grated
- 3 tbs parsley, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Cook lentils in water and add carrot, celery, bay leaf and onion with cloves stuck in it. Cook until lentils are cooked but not mushy. Drain water and remove carrot, onion, bay leaf and celeri. Set aside.
Start with grilling the eggplants using either a grill pan or broiling them under the broiler, after sprinkling them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Set them aside.
Heat olive oil in a pan, add onion and brown them. Add tomatoes and cook until water is evaporated for about 10 minutes.
In a mixing container, add lentils, garlic, tomato mixture, parsley, egg and egg white, chili, salt and pepper.
In small ramequins, add a little olive oil, add one layer of eggplant and one layer of lentils. Sprinkle with cheese and proceed with another layer of eggplants, then lentils and cheese.
Cook for about 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 375F until the cheese has melted.
Two friends in a pan – Radicchio and artichoke casserole
Dec 13th
Due amici in padella – Radicchio di Chioggia e carciofi in teglia
Radicchio al forno is a typical Northern Italian dish. I somehow added a little touch to it, by adding artichokes and topping it all with breadcrumbs, garlic and parsley. Artichokes and radicchio go perfectly well together, the sweetness of the artichoke blends beautifully with the bitterness of radicchio, and you get a wonderful side dish, or if you’re like me, just forget the “side” it’s just a dish in itself since I can eat the whole plate.
There are many different types of radicchio, the round and red one like this one is called radicchio di Chioggia which is mainly grown all year around. My parents would grow the green kind with long leaves that was really bitter much bitter than this one, and my mom made it with anchovies and garlic as a salad and even as a young child, I loved it. The bitter, the better. No wonder why I love Fernet, Cynar and anything that has a bitter taste.
Our neighbor when I was growing up was from Udine (Friuli region), Giovanni drove a Vespa and was speaking so so loud that we would wake up the whole neighborhood with his loud voice and Vespa honks, everyone called him “petrolette” because of his “honk honk”. Such a funny and sweet character with a huge heart and a terrible French. His French was terrible, and his Italian too, since he spoke mainly Friulan dialect, so even my parents had a tough time understanding him. Every Sunday, he would bring us so many bags of radicchio from his garden. Friulans eat an incredible amount of radicchio, it’s hard to keep up with them unless you’re a rabbit!
He moved back to Friuli with his wife when he retired, he must be around 80 now and anytime we go visit him, radicchio is always on the table twice a day and seven days a week. Let’s not forget the white polenta sliced and eaten along salame e radicchio!
Ingredients for 3-4
- 1 large head of radicchio, cut in thick slices
- 1 lb artichokes (baby ones or medium)
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbs parsley, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1 lemon
- 3 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
First start trimming the artichokes. Remove the tough green leaves, the with a knife, trim to top of the leaves and cut the green part around the bottom, close to the stem. You can either slice them if you are using the medium ones, or cut them in half if using the baby ones. Place in a bowl of water with the juice of one lemon, which will prevent the artichokes from discoloring.
Cut radicchio in half, then in slices of about 1 inch think.
In a pan, heat olive oil, crush one garlic clove and let the flavors out. Drain artichokes and add to the pan, stir for a few minutes, then add wine. Add salt and pepper and cover with a lid. Cook at medium heat until the wine has evaporated and the artichokes are cooked all the way through.
Add salt, pepper to the radicchio slices, and drizzle with olive oil. Grill in a grill pan, until radicchio changes color and is cooked but not mushy.
Add radicchio to artichokes pan and mix well.
In a small container, prepare the topping. Mix breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Place radicchio/artichokes mixture in a oven dish and top with breadcrumb mixture. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 375F for about 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
