People regularly ask me for recommendations: from which culinary classics to have on their bookshelves, to which ingredients to keep in their cupboards, or what utensils are best for certain techniques. So, as a Pasta Grannies team, we thought it was about time to share a few of our favourite things. Each week, on the Pasta Grannies blog, we’ll share a few key items we’re loving.
We’re not sure if we would always choose to wear the colour purple, or even paint our bedroom walls with it, but we LOVE to eat it. This week, we’re continuing our Autumn ingredient series with bittersweet radicchio. Purple has long been a symbol of magic and harnessing darkness for good and, for this vegetable, that’s no different. Radicchio is a vibrant variant of chicory which benefits from cold weather — in fact, it harnesses the climate to make things taste sweeter. Often it’s thrown in a bag of salad for a pop of colour, but in Italy it’s much more than that: it’s a central ingredient, and you’ll find it beyond the salad bowl — in risottos, filled pasta, or braised in pots.
STOCK
Items we regularly have on shelves in our pantry
What’s one of radicchio’s known culinary soul mates? Walnuts, of course. Whether in a salad, toasted and thrown on top of a risotto, or used in a pasta filling. We recommend grabbing them at your local supermarket, or ideally from a whole food store — but if you like to order online, try these Italian walnuts from Sous Chef.
MAKE
The best kitchen gadgets and gizmos to make a family-style spread.
Preparation of radicchio is nice and easy — if you have the right knife! Remember to peel away any discoloured leaves at the start and cut the head in half, then make a V-shaped cut to remove the tough, white core. We think it’s a breeze with a Santoku-style knife; we swear by these from Victorinox; they’re durable. In fact, the brand are the famous creators of THE Swiss Army knives, so they know a thing or two about high-quality blades for all uses.
ENJOY
Other things we’ve been enjoying inside or outside of the kitchen.
It seems that autumn ingredients are served up in many forms, and a lot of the ones we like are inedible.
We love these lovely leaf serving dishes from Holly&Co, which come in the two most common colours of radicchio.
Similarly, these super-cute earrings from Wolf&Moon also come in pink and purple.
Yet, if you do actually fancy eating your radicchio instead of wearing it, you can watch our Extra Helpings video with Fabiola and Renata, who make a radicchio salad, or try Livia’s comforting Risotto with Red Wine and Radicchio.
And if you’ve not had your quota yet, there’s also a longer read on this week’s blog where we reminisce about following the process of harvesting this chic vegetable in Treviso, the birthplace of tiramisu. Come with us!
Please note that all these items are real recommendations chosen at our own discretion, and not a result of paid placement. Sometimes, however, we may include affiliate links)
