Roasted red radicchio – Radicchio rosso

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 small radicchio
• 50 g bacon, streaky
• 1 m.-sized vegetable onion(s)
• 2 medium-sized garlic cloves
• 3 tbsp olive oil, cold squeezed
• 1 tbsp chili oil
• n. B. Salt and pepper, black, from the mill
• 1 tsp Aceto balsamico di Modena
• n. B. Almond flakes, optional

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

Clean the radicchio, remove the outer leaves, halve lengthwise, and cut out the white, bitter core. Rinse briefly and place in water. Soak for 30 minutes to extract the bitterness, then strain and drain well. 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 slice lengthwise into strips. In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil with the chili oil. Add the bacon and fry for 1 minute. Reduce the heat slightly and add the onions, stirring for about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic cloves. Reduce the heat further and add the radicchio over low heat. Fry for about 5 minutes, turning twice. Season with salt, freshly ground pepper, and balsamic vinegar, and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. As a side dish to roasted or grilled meat, garnish with almond flakes and serve warm.