Can anyone please advise where I can buy this on the North Shore, Auckland? It is similar to Red Cabbage but is finer textured...

catz21 - 2018-09-06 09:21:00

Is the there a branch of Farro on the North Shore? They are the only retailer where I've seen raddichio. By the way, raddichio is not really similar to red cabbage - the flavour is quite bitter and it needs different handling.

davidt4 - 2018-09-06 09:58:00

There is an organics store in Takapuna that has it.

awoftam - 2018-09-06 19:17:00

Thanks for your replies. Yes, I read in the recipe that it was quite bitter. Saw a recipe I wanted to try and radicchio was in it.

catz21 - 2018-09-07 07:43:00

catz21 wrote:

Thanks for your replies. Yes, I read in the recipe that it was quite bitter. Saw a recipe I wanted to try and radicchio was in it.

I love it. Wish I could get it here.

awoftam - 2018-09-07 19:02:00

Took me years to learn to like it when l lived in Italy - it's eye wateringly bitter, Miss it now though.

bella95 - 2018-09-18 22:25:00

I got tired of not being able to source raddichio so I grow my own! I realise that is not helpful when you want it now but consider it for the future.

lynan - 2018-09-19 08:33:00

We grow it too. It's easy to grow and tolerant of cold and drought.

davidt4 - 2018-09-19 10:13:00

davidt4 wrote:

We grow it too. It's easy to grow and tolerant of cold and drought.

Is it possible to 'blanch' it in the same way that witloof/endive/chicory is 'blanched' to prevent bitterness?

buzzy110 - 2018-09-19 10:17:00

Yes you can do all sorts of terrible things to whitloof, radiccio and endives. Including cooking them in white cheese sauces ...

But really they are lovely salad vegatables and deserve being eaten raw.

uli - 2018-09-23 17:48:00

I grew it & didn't like it as a salad vegetable, it was very bitter, so only once.
What did I do wrong?, Not grown fast enough (water)?

samanya - 2018-09-23 18:20:00

I rarely use radicchio raw in a salad as I prefer it grilled. Our favourite radicchio salad is made with quartered radicchio heads tossed with salt and olive oil, grilled on the barbecue briefly until wilted and partly browned, dressed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. A dressing with lemon juice and pomegranate molasses is also really good. You can add clumps of ricotta or spoonfuls of thick yoghurt, but only at the last minute or it will look terrible.

davidt4 - 2018-09-23 18:54:00

buzzy110 wrote:

Is it possible to 'blanch' it in the same way that witloof/endive/chicory is 'blanched' to prevent bitterness?

Haven’t tried as we like it as it comes. And we tried blanching witloof chicons in the vege garden by covering them with big flowerpots and it wasn’t a success.

davidt4 - 2018-09-23 18:58:00

samanya wrote:

I grew it & didn't like it as a salad vegetable, it was very bitter, so only once.
What did I do wrong?, Not grown fast enough (water)?

It is naturally pretty bitter, so I don’t think you did anything wrong. Maybe your expectations were off. We’ve got some just starting to sprout from last year’s plants from which we cut the leaves and left over the winter. I will report when they are big enough to eat.

davidt4 - 2018-09-23 19:01:00

Thanks davidt4 ...I'd never tried it before so I guess my expectations were that it was a salad vegetable when clearly it isn't so much.

samanya - 2018-09-24 10:13:00

bump

bev00 - 2019-09-21 23:49:00

davidt4 wrote:

Haven’t tried as we like it as it comes. And we tried blanching witloof chicons in the vege garden by covering them with big flowerpots and it wasn’t a success.

No it wouldn't be. In Europe whitloof is grown in the garden during summer and then the roots are harvested, the green tops have usually already died off by then and the roots are put into the cellar in pots or if you have the space a heap of earth.
There in the dark it will sprout because it is warmer than the frosty outside and because it gets watered. Those chicons are wonderful. My grandmother used to grow them. She had 3 cellars: one for potatoes and other roots, one for apples and one for coal.

uli - 2019-09-23 12:54:00

We now have a source of top quality witloof, grown in Masterton and sold by a Dutch cheese shop in Tauranga. It's not cheap, but it's a real treat and reminds me of our time in Berlin, where it was cheap and available at every supermarket. I cook it in beer with cream (and tarragon now that the season has begun).

davidt4 - 2019-09-23 13:24:00