This past November, we hosted Bold Flavours: A Radicchio Pop-up Event at Burdock & Co. Through this event we brought eaters together with local chefs and farmers to create a deeper connection, understanding, and appreciation of radicchio.

This event was made possible in part by the Metro Vancouver Ag Awareness Grant.

We had five participating chefs at the event, Chef Andrea Carlson, Chef Akira Kishimoto, Chef Peter Ho, Chef Lee Cooper and Chef Jiwon Seo. Each chef prepared radicchio in different ways, playing with and presenting the versatility of this vegetable and its many flavours. The dishes included:

• Hazelnut tart with fermented apple fudge, hazelnut, and radicchio conserve
• Beignet with ricotta and radicchio jam
• Matsutake and radicchio yakibitashi (grilled and soaked in dashi)
• Monaka with grilled radicchio, chocolate miso ae, apple, walnuts
• Kinome, anjou pear with pickled radicchio, orange miso, candied zucchini blossom, and shaved frozen strawberry
• Bubble potato with radicchio, sea buckthorn miso, and shiso flower
• Radicchio sorbet with buzz button salt, coffee-soaked chestnut, coffee-candied lichen, and radicchio
• Pressed Treviso and beetroot with preserved fig, chicken liver and foie gras parfait
• Korean buckwheat crepe roll stuffed with radicchio and beef filling, finished with soybean dressing
• Radicchio with charcoal grilled wingtat chicken hearts and parmigiano reggiano.

The radicchio used in each dish was grown by Athiana Acres and Glorious Organics. We were also joined by farmers Mark Cormier, Daniel Garfinkel, and Cassie Plotnikoff, who were able to give our guests some insight into what it is like growing radicchio in BC.

So why radicchio?

The intention of hosting an event focused on radicchio, was to encourage our community to try something new and move past the idea that radicchio is just a bitter vegetable. We also wanted our guests to learn from our farmers how well this crop grows in BC, that it is readily available through local farmers and farmers’ markets, and that it can even be grown in their own gardens.

Radicchio grows very well in our BC Climate, which is quite similar to that of Northern Italy (where radicchio originates). There are many different types available, such as Chioggia, Treviso, Lusia, Tardivo, and Castelfranco. These varieties vary in colour and flavour, and can go well in all kinds of dishes. From main courses and salads to even desserts, radicchio is a surprising underdog who can level up many dishes. Radicchio offers a great opportunity to incorporate greens in your diet throughout the whole year. Because of its later growing season, you can have radicchio from the end of summer into the early spring.

Mark Cormier’s recommendation for getting into radicchio, is to start simple with a caesar salad– the parmesan and creamy dressing of a caesar salad can pair really nicely. Remember, radicchio is bitter, and it can take some time to get used to the flavour, but if you cook it right or find a variety that works well for you, you will be able to get beyond the bitterness and open yourself up to a world of new and bold flavours.

What is another vegetable you think should be celebrated and would love to see highlighted at a Feast of Fields Event? Please send your suggestions to Julia Zado at engagement@farmfolkcityfolk.ca

To learn about why we started having radicchio events, watch:

To hear more radicchio tips from Mark Cormier, watch: