As a child, Francesca Marchini rode in a pick-up truck with her mother to the farmers' markets in the San Francisco Bay area to sell radicchio and fresh produce. Back then, customers didn’t recognize the wine-colored vegetable grown from Italian seed that her grandfather collected. At first, they mistook the waxy ball for a head of cabbage.
“Oh, that’s the stuff in the salad blend!,” customers would say. “I just pick around it!”
Recipe discussions ensued. Francesca listened while her mother explained how to cook the bitter vegetable with a taste as bold as its color.
The Marchini family
Forty years later, little explanation is needed, but recipes remain in high demand. Radicchio di Chioggia, (radicchio means “chicory” in Italian), has become as popular as endive, and sometimes it rivals kale. Radicchio’s attractive cousins now appear in Italian specialty markets and on restaurant menus. Who can ignore the long burgundy-tipped stalks of Tardivo or the pink florets of Veneto?
Chicory can be finicky to grow outside of the Veneto region in Italy, from whence it came, but the Marchini’s have found a way to harvest the varieties more than once a year in California’s Central Valley. Boxes of “Joe’s Premium,” named after Francesca’s grandfather who was the first to start growing radicchio on a large scale, ship to customers across the country, including Baldor Specialty Foods.
Joe Marchini back in the 1980s
From her kitchen surrounded by budding pistachio, walnut and fig trees, Francesca keeps the recipe conversations on radicchio flowing through cooking videos and blog posts, while her brothers and father manage the farm. She chops up greens from their fields and cooks colorful risotto, arancini and focaccia with her sister and three year-old son, J.J., by her side.
Since they all live within five miles of each other, it’s not uncommon for three generations to sit down together for a meal. A simple arugula salad drizzled with olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper, always finds a spot at the table, just how her Nonno Joe likes it. But these days, Francesca prefers a warm braised salad hot off the grill.
Francesca Marchini and her son JJ
Here’s Francesca’s red, white, and blue summer salad recipe.
Red White and Blue Radicchio Salad by Francesca Marchini
Ingredients:
3-4 cups of fresh Romaine lettuce or Tuscan kale
1 head of Radicchio
about 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries
about 1/2 cup fresh strawberries cut in small pieces
1 oz Parmesan cheese\
Sweet Poppy Dressing
1/2 cup of light olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon dried mustard or Dijon
1 teaspoon salt
Onion Poppy Dressing
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 large sweet onion, cut into wedges
1 teaspoon ground mustard or Dijon
1 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
Method:
Rinse and dry the salad greens. Cut or tear them into small pieces and place them in a large salad bowl.
In a separate small bowl, whisk the vinegar, Dijon, garlic, salt, and pepper. Slowly mix in the olive oil to emulsify.
Add the fruit to the salad greens, pour on the dressing. Toss Parmesan on top.