Since the Bagna Cauda, I've mostly been eating eggs and muffins. I've got an enormous project due tonight at midnight, in times of stress, I always revert to breakfast food. I think it makes me feel like I've just woken up, and that I have a whole stretch of time. It's a fleeting, but delicious trick, and it has kept me happy(ish) for the past week or so.
After my dinner of scrambled eggs and salsa last night, I was putting the milk back in the fridge when I saw, buried beneath a stack of carrots, that little radicchio. I looked sad, the edges of its leaves slightly wilted.
Now, not only did I spent a lot of money on that little thing, but before the Bagna Cauda and my introduction to anchovies, I'd never eaten radicchio either. And even though I loved the saltiness of the anchovies, and the sexy, slippery egg yolk, the radicchio never really got to prove itself. Which is why I've decided to just cook it up by itself and really give it the attention it deserves.
Oven-Braised Raddichio with Balsamic and Thyme
1 sad head of raddichio, cut into quarters
1 tsp of minced fresh thyme (the only thyme in my backyard is lemon thyme, but it was good too)
3 T or so of olive oil
Drizzling of balsamic
S&P
Silly easy. Dress the raddichio wedges with the olive oil, thyme, and salt and pepper. Toss gently to coat everything. Pop them in a hot oven (roughly 400ºF? I used a rickety little toaster oven, and it melted the plastic appliance on top in the cooking process. So 400ºF should be about right) and cook for 12 minutes on one side. Flip, bake 8 minutes more. Once they're done they look silky and wilted, the edges slightly caramelized.
Drizzle some balsamic on top and enjoy by themselves. Raddichio's fantastic bitterness is buttressed by the smoothness of the olive oil and thyme. These wedges became downright sexual on a piece of toast with some melted brie. YES PLEASE.
