I adore red radicchio not only for its vibrant colour but for its bitter flavour. I qualify it with the “red” as radicchio can also be green, yellow, white or pink and is part of the chicory (cicoria) family. The “radiceto” that I grew up eating is actually called “cicoria zuccherina di Trieste” or sweet chicory from Trieste, a sweet leafy salad green that grows progressively bitter as the plant matures. There are many varieties of red radicchio: Treviso, Chioggia, Verona (all names of towns in Veneto); the leaves of the head of the radicchio of the three varieties are a different shape and they have differing degrees of bitterness.

Here in Melbourne the red radicchio I can more easily find looks like the round Chioggia variety, and it is just labelled “radicchio”. My favourite red radicchio is one I cannot find in Australia - radicchio rosso di Treviso Tardivo, with thick central white spines and distinctive curls at the tips of the leaves. It is called “tardivo” because it is found in late winter.

In winter I always have a head of radicchio in the fridge. I love eating it in a salad (with some thinly sliced ripe pear) but also making a risotto with it (and using red wine with the stock), or grilling it (and drizzling it with aged balsamic vinegar) or making it the hero of the filling in a vegetarian tart.

Using store-bought shortcrust pastry makes this tart much quicker to make, though I like making my own using half spelt flour and half plain and it gives it a slightly nutty taste. I have played around with the tart filling a bit, adding more or less balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, to balance the bitter/sweet/acid tastes. If you find radicchio too bitter, soaking it in water (for up to a couple hours) will remove the bitterness, and in this case you may like to reduce or omit the sugar (the balsamic vinegar is a bit sweet anyway). The tart has a lovely balanced taste and makes a lovely Sunday night dinner and cold leftovers are perfect the next day.

radicchio tart

FOR THE PASTRY:

150g unbleached white spelt flour
150g plain flour
125g unsalted butter, cut into small dice and cold from the fridge
1 large egg
1/4 tsp salt
3-4 tablespoons milk or water, cold from the fridge
(or you could use 450g store-bought shortcrust pastry)

FOR THE FILLING:

2 small leeks
1 head red radicchio
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
15g unsalted butter
2-3 tablespoons white wine
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 – 1 tsp brown sugar
100g cream or plain yoghurt
2 eggs
25g parmesan, grated
1 tsp thyme leaves (plus extra for garnish)

To make the pastry, place the flours and salt in a large bowl and whisk to remove lumps. Add the butter, working it into the flour with your finger tips until it resembles wet sand. You could also use the pulse function on your food processor to do this step. Drop in the lightly beaten egg and two tablespoons of the milk, mixing with a wooden spoon (or your processor) to bring it all together. Eventually you will need to use your hands to shape it into a ball, adding the extra milk if needed. Knead briefly to make the dough homogenous then flatten it into a thick disc with the palm of your hand. Wrap and place in the fridge to rest for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 190C. Prepare a 25cm diameter pie tin (mine had a removable base) by lining the base and rubbing butter on the sides to prevent the dough from sticking. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out so that it is about 3mm thick, and drape it over the base and sides of the tin, trimming the excess. Prick the base all over with a fork and put in the fridge for 15 minutes to chill.

Trim the ends of the leek and slice thinly; wash and drain then set aside. Separate the leaves from the radicchio head and cut away the thick white spine at the base of the leaves. Rinse then drain and cut into thin strips. You will need about 180g radicchio. Soak the radicchio leaves in water if they are too bitter for your taste, anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour.

Remove the pie base from the fridge. Place pie weights or dried beans (I used chick peas) on baking paper on the base and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the weights and bake for a further 10 minutes.

While the base is baking, sautè the leek with the oil and butter in a large frypan until starting to soften. Increase the heat, add the wine and cook for a few minutes so that most of the wine evaporates. then add the radicchio and cook for a few more minutes until reduced in volume and softened. Add the sugar and stir though, then add the balsamic vinegar. Taste the mixture, adding more balsamic or sugar if needed; then add salt to taste. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs, cream and grated Parmesan cheese, adding salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste.

Place the cooled vegetables in the pie case, making sure it is not overfilled and then carefully pour in the egg mixture. Scatter on the thyme leaves. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the filling has set and the top of the tart is golden. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs and serve warm or at room temperature accompanied by a green salad.