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CocoRadicchio, a feast of flavours in the area of Treviso
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Radicchio, the "red flower of Treviso", is just one of the pride and joys of the Veneto countryside; it is unique in shape and intensity of colour to the extent that it has become the protagonist of a food and wine fair.
CocoRadicchio is an event which is now in its seventeenth year, held annually in February (radicchio is a "winter" flower) in some of the most renowned restaurants in the province of Treviso.
The name - "coco" is the contracted form of the word cuoco, or cook- reveals the intention of the events organisers: namely to familiarise the public with the variety of delicious ways in which to cook radicchio, be it as a side dish, fresh in salads, grilled, fried, baked in foil, but also as a base for pasta and lasagne dishes or combined with fish, meat or cheese.
Ristorante alla Torre in San Zenone degli Ezzelini, Hotel Terme di Vittorio Veneto, Gigetto in Miane, Ristorante Barbesin in Castelfranco Veneto, Miron in Nervesa della Battaglia or Ristorante Celeste in Venegazzù all organise thematic evenings for tasting old and new recipes based on radicchio, accompanied by theatre performances, poetry readings in Veneto's dialect and a variety of performances and exhibitions by contemporary artists.
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It is to radicchio that a "gastronomic tour" is dedicated: a tour embracing the provinces of Padua, Treviso and Venice, taking in eighteenth-century villas (Villa Marcello at Levada, Corner della Regina at Cavasagra, Lattes at Istrana), nature reserves (Oasi di Cervara, a swampy area where it is possible to find herons, coots and turtles) and cities of art. Following this route might provide the perfect opportunity for spending a weekend in an enchanting part of the Veneto region, where radicchio is grown in all its varieties: from the red type of Treviso, commonly called spadone, with its long, tapered leaves and a strong, bitter flavour, to the variegated variety of Castelfranco, with its more delicate flavour and thick, jagged leaves that are slightly rounded in shape.
Today it is synonymous with the height of culinary refinement, but radicchio was the "poor" food of the countryside for centuries. Its origins are hazy, but it seems to have appeared in Italy in the XVI century, precisely in the province of Treviso. At the time it was little more than a weed and remained as such for over a century until the plants underwent the forcing technique: thus they were harvested while still small, their leaves removed and were then left to rest in the dark under a layer of peat so that a new layer of fresh, crunchy leaves formed.
Legend has it that a farmer one winter brought home a barrow laden with wild radicchio and forgot about it, leaving it in a dark corner until he discovered some time later that a new intense red "flower" had blossomed under the withered outer leaves.
Radicchio was finally consecrated by agronomist Giuseppe Benzi, who in 1900 got a radicchio exhibition underway in the main Loggia of Piazza dei Signori, in Treviso. |
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 CocoRadicchio
When: February- March 2006
Where: various locations throughout the province of Treviso
Info: Carry on, Via Gera 6, 31015 Conegliano
Telephone: +39.0438 24007
Fax: +39.0438 24605
E-mail: info@carryon.it
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