Variegato di Castelfranco
Growers: Adrianna Moreno and Joelene Jebbia, Empowered Flowers
Chef: Kbar
Bite: Castlefranco and Leek Pupusa
(Cabbage, Castlefranco, Leek Curtido with Korean Pepper Hot Sauce)
If Treviso Tardivo is the king of radicchio, Castelfranco is the queen. Dubbed the “tulip of winter” or “i fiori che si mangia” (the flowers that you eat), Castelfranco is unde- niably beautiful. There is a story in the Veneto region of Italy that tells of a noblewoman from Castelfranco attending a wintertime premiere at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. This stylish woman apparently adorned her gown with a head of Castel- franco, and everyone believed it was an exotic flower imported from far away.
Castelfranco has a tulip-like shape with an open architecture. Sometimes heads are cone-shaped, and growers soak them in warm water and then “fluff” them outwards to better display the lettuce-like shape. Buttery yellow leaves with red flecks are thin yet crisp, and have a mild, almost nutty flavor that makes them shine in salads.
- Filename
- 2022_Sagra_del_Radicchio_0028.jpg
- Copyright
- Shawn Linehan. All Rights Reserved
- Image Size
- 7333x4889 / 48.4MB
- www.shawnlinehan.com
- Contained in galleries
- 2022 Sagra del Radicchio