Roasted red radicchio alla Francesca

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 1 m.-large radicchio, oblong
• 40 g bacon, streaky, mild
• 1 medium-sized vegetable onion(s), approx. 80 g
• 3 medium-sized garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp olive oil, cold squeezed
• 2 tbsp tomato juice
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp Marsala
• 1 pinch(s) chicken broth, granulated
• 1 tsp oregano, dried
• 1 tsp traditional balsamic vinegar

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 6 minutes; Total time approx. 26 minutes

A non-bitter version with long radicchio. Recipe from Liguria, Italy.

Clean the radicchio, remove the outer leaves, halve lengthwise, and separate all the leaves from the white stalk. Remove the white midrib from all leaves. Rinse the leaves briefly and place them in water for 15 minutes to extract the bitterness, then strain and drain well. Meanwhile, cut the bacon into thin strips. Trim both ends of the onion, peel, and quarter lengthwise. Halve the larger, outer quarters lengthwise. Trim both ends of the garlic, peel, and cut lengthwise into strips. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the lean bacon and fry for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat and add the onions, stirring until translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic cloves. Reduce the heat to low or turn off. Once the temperature has dropped below 80 degrees Celsius, add the radicchio leaves. Fry for about 3 minutes, turning twice. Season gently with a little salt and a little more freshly ground pepper (see note). Mix the sauce ingredients together and drizzle the sauce over the lettuce leaves. Serve warm in the pan as a side dish or appetizer. Note: Since the lean bacon adds salt, a test of salting can be very helpful: chew a leaf of radicchio, a sliced ​​onion, and a strip of cooked bacon together. Incidentally, this is exactly how this vegetable is enjoyed. Of course, the radicchio leaf is tossed into the sauce first.