Nutritional Value
Tardivo is a source of potassium to balance fluid levels within the body, calcium to build strong bones and teeth, vitamin K to assist in faster wound healing, vitamin A to maintain healthy organ functioning, and copper to develop connective tissues. The leaves are also a source of fiber to regulate the digestive tract, vitamin C to strengthen the immune system, zinc to repair damaged tissue, and other nutrients, including vitamin E, manganese, phosphorus, and magnesium. The bitter flavor within Tardivo is created from lactucopicrin, and the red pigments within the leaves indicate the presence of anthocyanins that have antioxidant-like properties to protect the body against free radicals and oxidative damage.
Applications
Tardivo has a mild, bittersweet, and earthy flavor suited for fresh or cooked preparations. The blanched leaves have a crisp and succulent nature that complements dressings, other greens, and toppings in salads, or they can be placed as an edible garnish on dishes for color, texture, and visual appeal. Some chefs choose to shave small pieces of the curled, red portions of the leaves to create thin strips that can be used to top tarts, puddings, and main dishes. Tardivo can also be served on appetizer platters as a dipping vessel, drizzled in honey with crushed nuts, or shredded as an ingredient for sandwiches and open-face toasts. In addition to fresh preparations, Tardivo shines in cooked dishes and is popularly roasted, sauteed, baked, or stir-fried with olive oil, aromatics, and spices as a side dish. The leaves are also incorporated into pasta, minced into ravioli, stirred into risotto, or mixed into soups, stews, and curries. Try adding Tardivo into omelets, quiche, crepes, sauces, or slow-cooked vegetable dishes. The leaves can also be baked into focaccia, roasted and topped with poached egg, grilled, dipped in a beer batter, and fried as a crisp dish. Beyond savory preparations, Tardivo is simmered into jams, baked into a strudel, or incorporated into torta di radicchio, a sweet cake covered in a white chocolate glaze. Tardivo pairs well with cheeses such as parmesan, gruyere, ricotta, and asiago, aromatics including garlic, onions, and shallots, tomatoes, olives, herbs such as rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano, and basil, polenta, nuts including walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds, pumpkin, carrots, meats such as sausage, prosciutto, beef, and poultry, and fruits such as pears, apples, citrus, and stone fruit. Whole, unwashed Tardivo will keep for 1 to 2 weeks when loosely wrapped in plastic and stored in the refrigerator's vegetable drawer. If the leaves begin to wither, they can be shocked in ice water to create a crisper texture.
🔅 Notes：
When radicchio meets risotto
How to cook a chicory
Endive and chicories are slightly different from a botanical point of view—endive are annuals and chicories are perennials—but for cooking purposes it’s useful to lump all of them (endive, radicchio, treviso, frisee, escarole, etc.) together.
If you want them raw, salad is the way to go. Being a bitter veg, the best approach is to pair chicories with something sweet and something rich, and then marry it all with something bracing. For sweet, think winter citrus cut into supremes; shaved apples and pears; dried cherries and figs; candied nuts; and adding a good dose of honey or maple syrup to your salad dressing. For rich, think creme fraiche, sour cream, yogurt, and assertive cheese; poached or boiled eggs; smoked fish or shredded chicken or fried bacon; and even tahini. Chicories can also stand up nicely to the heat of a warm vinaigrette.
But when cooked, chicories are a new vegetable entirely. Across the family, heat tempers the bitterness, giving way to something sweeter, earthier, nuttier, and downright succulent. Roast them in the oven. Sear them in a skillet. Chop them and add to soups, risottos, even baked pasta dishes, and watch the bitterness melt away.
🍎 Preserve fruits
1. Fruits especially with softer skin, if packaged, should be placed in the cold box in the original package;
2. Organic fruits are more prone to spoilage if they have water droplets. Put the fruits in a ventilated place to dry or wipe off the water vapor, then wrap the fruits in slightly damp newspaper and put them in a plastic bag before refrigerating. ;
3. Organic fruits do not use preservatives or special treatments. fruits are generally stored for three to five days in room temperature only, should be kept in fridge. Some fruits e.g. papaya will decompose enzymes, so they should be eaten as soon as possible.
🍏 How to wash fruits
1. Wash fruits before eating to keep them fresh;
2. It is not advisable to soak the fruits for too long, and they should be washed first and then cut to avoid the loss of vitamins;
3. Washing fruits with dilute salt water or Dish Drop can easily remove vegetable insects;
4. Cut fruits with a stainless steel knife to reduce vitamin loss;
5. Vegetable leaves contain a lot of nutrients, so you should avoid shredding, chopping or grinding the leaves;
6. Immediately eat after cutting, to avoid the loss of vitamins due to air oxidation.
