The radicchio family members, when cooked, take on a new flavour and make great starters or accompaniments for grilled meat and fish. If you can’t find smoked mozzarella, then there is a cheese called scarmorza which is a plastic-like curd cheese. If both fail then mozzarella will be fine, but do buy a good one. You can find mosto (not fermented grape juice) in Italian delis or specialist shops.
Serves 4
- 1-2 heads of radicchio
- 60ml olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 250g smoked mozzarella
- 60ml mosto
- Cut the radicchio into quarters, leaving the root on.
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan and gently cook it, turning it after a few minutes until it begins to soften.
- Season with salt and pepper and cover the pan with a lid or foil to create steam to soften it.
- Cook for another 3-4 minutes then remove from the heat and leave to cool.
- Remove the root and arrange the leaves on plates.
- Mix the mosto with any remaining juices in the pan and spoon over the radicchio.
- Break the mozzarella into pieces and arrange on the top.