Ossocollo and radicchio tardivo

In winter, Treviso gets its radicchio tardivo, the late radicchio, with long, crisp, red and white leaves and a bitter edge. Ossocollo, sliced thin, is soft and savoury. Together they make a dish that works as a starter, or as a light main course. This isn't a traditional recipe: it's an idea to try.

Bitter, sweet, savoury

The radicchio is bitter and crisp, the ossocollo soft and savoury; the pear and a drizzle of honey bring sweetness, the walnuts crunch. And then there's hot and cold: the radicchio comes out of the pan hot, the ossocollo stays raw, and that warmth is enough to turn its fat translucent.

What you need

For four people:

• two heads of radicchio tardivo;
• twelve thin slices of ossocollo;
• a firm pear;
• a handful of walnut kernels;
• honey, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

Step by step

1. The radicchio: wash it, remove any damaged outer leaves and trim the root a little, leaving enough to hold the head together. Cut it lengthways into four wedges.
2. In the pan: heat a pan or a griddle well with a little oil and sear the wedges two or three minutes on each side, until they just wilt and get a few dark edges. Salt and pepper.
3. The roll: as soon as they're off the heat, wrap each wedge in a slice of ossocollo. Ossocollo shouldn't be cooked: the warmth of the radicchio is enough, and the fat turns translucent and fragrant.
4. Pear and walnuts: cut the pear into thin slices, skin on, and toast the walnuts for a minute in a dry pan.
5. On the plate: three rolls each, the pear slices alongside, the walnuts broken on top, a drizzle of honey and one of oil. To the table at once, while the radicchio is hot.

Before the tardivo arrives

Radicchio tardivo comes with the cold. Before that, the early radicchio, more compact, works too: sear it the same way, cut into four.

How ossocollo is made, and why it's sliced thin, we've told you here: ossocollo, twenty days under salt.