Radicchio or Chicorée Italienne on French Menus

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

  

The red Radicchio.

Photograph courtesy of wayne marshall.

    

Radicchio, Chicorée Italienne or Chicorée Rouge and Chioggia.

     

Radicchio: a family of leafy vegetables from the chicory family.  Radicchios began in Italy as hybrids and quickly became popular in France.  Despite the variety of radicchios available in France, most will be in the markets and on the menu just as Chicorée Rouge or Radicchio. The limited use of their original names, is a copyright problem. Despite that radicchios are very much part of the French kitchen.

 

Young radicchio leaves will be included, uncooked, in salads while larger leaves will be fried or grilled and served as a garnish. In Northern Italy, as well as Italian restaurants in France, cooked radicchio will be served with pasta and inside ravioli.  As  the radicchio is related to chicory they also bring a slightly bitter taste, especially in larger leaves. However, cooking removes most, but not all, of the bitterness. Radicchio has, in fact, a light bitter taste that grows on you. In salads, young radicchio leaves offer a pleasant contrast among other salad leaves.

   

Chicorée - Radicchio on the French Menu.

   

Le Risotto à la Chicorée Rouge, Parmesan et Champignons Sautés – A risotto made with red chicory, Parmesan cheese and lightly fried button mushrooms.

 

Rémoulade de Radis Noir et Chicorée Rouge.  Black radishes and red chicory served with a mustard and mayonnaise-based sauce. Black radishes come from the same family as the red radish. However, in a dish such as this, the black radishes will almost certainly be served peeled as just under the peel they have a strong bite.

 

Seiches Avec Haricots Cannellini, Olives et Chicorée Rouge de Chioggia. Cuttlefish served with Italian cannellini beans, olives, and the Chioggia Radicchio. Cannellini are dried white Italian beans. These beans are both  imported and  grown in France. In French dishes, the cannellini bean may sometimes replace the traditional French white Haricot Blanc.

  

Cœur de Ris de Veau Poele, Radicchio, Poireaux et Ail Noir De Aomori. The heart of lightly fried veal sweetbreads served with leaves from the red radicchio, leeks, and the black garlic of Aomori.

   

The black garlic of Aomori is a Japanese creation. To make this black garlic white garlic is marinated in seawater until it reaches a texture similar to prunes. Only a light garlic aroma remains, and the taste changes to a somewhat fruity taste with balsamic overtones. The Prefecture of Aomori is in the Northern part of Honshu, Japan’s largest Island.

  

Sweetbreads are one of the tastiest cuts of organ meat. However, from my knowledge and a short investigation the term the "heart of sweetbreads" has no real meaning. It may upgrade the menu but it remains just menuise and does not indicate a  specific cut.  I will have to write a post on sweetbreads, as these very tasty internal organs are not well known, outside of restaurants, in North America and the UK. 

  

Magret de Canard Poêlé, Choux et Radicchio Braisé – Lightly fried duck breast served with braised cabbage and braised radicchio leaves. When ordering duck breast remember that the French prefer theirs slight rosé, pink. If you prefer your duck well done tell the server.  Unlike steaks you will rarely be asked, in France, how you would like duck breast cooked.

   

Salade Chaude de Poulet Fermière, Radicchio di Treviso et sa Sauce à La Mangue. A warm chicken salad accompanied by leaves from the Treviso Radicchio, all served with a mango sauce,

Onglet de Bœuf Black Angus à la Chicorée Rouge à l'Anchois –A flank or skirt steak from the Black Angus beef served with an anchovy sauce made by blending anchovies with olive oil and radicchio.

The most popular radicchios in French markets.

On French menus the chicorée rouge or radicchio rouge will most probably come from one of the four most popular varieties.

    

Chicorée Rouge, Chicorée Rouge  di Chioggia, Radicchio di Chiogga, Radicchio Rosso di Chioggia IGP – 

The Red Radicchio or  the Chioggia Radicchio.

 

This is the best-known member of the radicchio family. It is nearly round with leaves the color of Burgundy, but with white ribs. Apart from the white ribs red chicory looks somewhere between a round red lettuce or a red cabbage. The Radicchio di Chioggia will mostly be seen in salads.  Though, like the other members of the radicchio family it may also be served grilled or prepared as part of a main dish.

  

This Radicchios origins come from around the town of Chioggia, Italy. The town of Chioggia  is in the same lagoon as Venice, Italy. If you are visiting Venice and have a day free, take a Vaporetto, a water bus, for a one hour and a half trip, within the Venice Lagoon, to Chioggia.

  

Chioggia

Photograph courtesy of andre_gas.

   

In Chioggia You will have an enjoyable and different day away from the crowds. Chioggia is the largest fishing port in the area, and  it also has canals. However, despite the name, the Radicchios de Chioggia do not come from the town.  The radicchios come the from the mainland opposite the town. The land there is also called Chioggia.  In this part of Chioggia,  it is the farmers, not the fishermen and women, who are famous. And their fame is not confined to radicchios.

The Chioggia radicchio in the languages of France’s neighbors:

 

 (German - radicchio rosso di Chioggia), (Italian - radicchio di Chioggia), (Spanish   - achicoria de Chioggia),

     

Chicorée Rouge di Chioggia  - The Radicchio Rosso di Chiogga

Photograph courtesy of Flavia Conidi.

  

Chicorée  Tardive - Radicchio Tardivo di Traviso.   

Chicorée Rouge de Trévise or the Chicorée Trévise

Radicchio Rosso di Treviso IGP.

The Treviso Radicchio.

        

This long-leafed radicchio is excellent when grilled and will often be served as a garnish. Treviso and the area around are both a center of agriculture as well as a major center of Italian industry. Treviso is just a few miles down the road from the beautiful city of Vicenza to the west and Padova to its east. Treviso is 80 km from Venice.  

  

Chicorée Rouge de Trévise  or Radicchio Rosso di Treviso

Photograph courtesy of redazadi.

  

This radicchio, as its secondary names indicate, is a late growing radicchio. A tardy winter member of the radicchio family. This is also the strongest tasting member of the radicchio family and best when grilled.

  

The Treviso Radicchio in the languages of France’s neighbors:

 

(German -  radicchio aus Treviso), (Italian  - radicchio rosso di Treviso), (Spanish achicoria rosa di Treviso ),

     

 

Chicorée  de Verona - Radicchio de Verona.

Radicchio di Verona IGP

The Verona Radicchio.

  

This is a small oval shaped radicchio. The smaller leaves will be used in salads and the larger leaves will be cooked, usually grilled. Verona, the town, is famous for its beautiful old town, its Roman amphitheater and, of course, the original setting of the story of Romeo and Juliet.

The Verona Radicchio in the languages of France’s neighbors:

(Italian - radicchio rosso di Verona), (German  -  radicchio di Verona),  (Spanish - achicoria rosa di Verona).

     

Radicchio de Verona.

Photograph courtesy of Artist in Doing Nothing

 

All these new radicchios, and many other  special hybrid vegetables, were developed along an agricultural line that follows the highway from Milan to Venice. Why, I do not know?  However, within that 100 km from Verona to Venice you will find some of the best Northern Italian cuisine  and an amazing collection of radicchios.

 

The radicchios served in French restaurants are mostly grown in France, though some are Italian imports. Radicchios, except for the Radicchio de Castelfranco, are mostly seen with a dark mauve color and white ribs. Moreover, surprisingly, if you drive through areas that grow radicchios you may be surprised to see only fields of green radicchios.  These green radicchios  are taken from the fields and placed in covered rooms with running water and kept completely in the dark.  There the natural photosynthesis that keeps the radicchio green is halted. Voila, the green radicchios continue to grow and become mauve.
  

Bringing in the radicchios.

Photograph courtesy of Dave_McGurgan.

Radicchios and the IGP lablel.

Most of the original varieties of radicchio from Italy are registered IGP names. IGP on English labels is written PGI for Protected Geographical Indication. Behind these labels are regulations from Pan-European agreements. These agreements permit a well-known food product or wine from a specific area to register its name and locality. That registration becomes an IGP/ PGI and limits,

 

The PGI label

 throughout the European Union. the use of a name to a specific area. That means that a Radicchio de Verona  grown in France cannot legally use the name Verona. With these restrictions the different radicchios appear on French menus and in the markets just as a radicchio or radicchio rouge. 

N.B.: Cheddar, a village in Somerset in the UK never tried to limit the manufacture of Cheddar Cheese to its original area. Cheddar has no IGP and consequently Cheddar Cheese may made anywhere.  The best Cheddar cheeses no longer come from Cheddar.

 

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Magret de Canard or Lou Magret, Duck Breast Dishes and Recipes on French Menus.

  

Mushrooms in France I, The Champignon de Paris, the Button Mushroom.

  

Steak Frites. How to Order Steak Frites in France. An Introduction to the Onglet and the Bavette, the Cuts that Made Steak Frites Famous.

   

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

Copyright: 2010, 2015

Échalotes - Shallots. Shallots on French Menus. Shallots are One of the Most Important Herbs in the French Kitchen

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

Shallots.
Photograph courtesy of Burpee

    

Échalotes -  Shallots.   

French chefs love shallots as their taste is light, slightly sweet and poignant; very different to their cousins which include onions, garlic, and chives. The smaller and younger shallots are preferred in the French kitchen as they are considered to have more flavor. However, there are many varieties of shallots and while one may be treated as a vegetable, another may be used as a herb, and a third somewhere in between. The shallot’s flexibility is highly appreciated and like its cousins, is a relative of the lily, the flower. (In North America, shallots are often considered to be a small onion or a type of garlic, which they are not). 

A lily, the prettiest member of the Amaryllidaceae family.
Photograph courtesy of oatsy40
www.flickr.com/photos/oatsy40/25933338625/ 

Fresh shallots

Fresh shallots are preferred. However, they are only available fresh for five to six months a year, with the different varieties having seasons that last for one to two months.  In France, the best restaurants will have an all-year-round supply of fresh hot-house shallots. However, for lesser mortals, shallots, like their cousins, onions, and garlic, may be stored.  

Shallot flowers.
Photograph courtesy of Sterling College
www.flickr.com/photos/sterlingcollege/19996116128/ 

Shallots on French Menus.

Onglet de Bœuf Sauce Échalotes – A North American hanger steak, a U.K. skirt steak, served with a shallot sauce. Here the shallot is treated as both a vegetable and an herb. The sauce will be made of gently fried shallots made into a sauce with white wine and probably crème fraiche. 

Hanger steaks are only rarely on the North American steak house menus as they are considered tough. However, French chefs choose their meat very carefully and prepare these steaks very well. 

A well-prepared hanger steak is delicious, and it will not be tough unless it was over-cooked. These are the steaks most often used in France's very popular "steak frites," steak and French fries. N.B.: On French menus, if the onglet, the hanger steak noted here, and a bavette, a flank steak, were to be exchanged, one for the other, none of us would notice the difference! To order a steak in France, cooked the way you like it, click here.  

  

Shallots and garlic in the market.

Photograph courtesy of Numeria Zayas

www.flickr.com/photos/rarehero/5477916604/

 

Moules au Vin Blanc, Échalotes, Persil et Crème –  Mussels and white wine, shallots, parsley, and cream. The ever-popular moules frites was originally a Belgian creation. The French have adopted this dish and have kept up the quality and options. French fries will be usually be served on the side.

    

Grilled Rabbit Roulade
A roulade indicates a dish where meat or fish, or in this case rabbit, is rolled around a filling and then cooked.  In this dish, the filling was carrot purée, haricots verts, baby carrots, and roasted shallots, all flavored with thyme juice. Chefs may also use the name roulade for other stuffed or filled dishes, and that is how your dessert menu may offer a roulade au chocolat.
Photograph courtesy of Premshree Pilla
www.flickr.com/photos/premshree/3605612149/

   

Poitrine de Poulet Farcie, Sauce au Romarin, Farcie avec Champignons et Échalotes – Chicken breast flavored stuffed with button mushrooms and shallots and served with a rosemary sauce.

 

Shallots in a Balsamic vinegar marinade.
Photograph courtesy of Annie Mole.
www.flickr.com/photos/anniemole/5268162511/

 

Saucisson Cuit Sauce Échalote et Gratin Dauphinois - A pre-cooked sausage, often similar to a salami, cooked again, and served with a shallot sauce and Gratin Dauphinois.  France has many different sausages, from pork sausages that require cooking to salami type sausages that may be eaten cold. Once upon a time, each type of sausage had its own name; however, that is no longer the case. The French words saucisse and saucisson came to England with the cooks who accompanied William the Conqueror's armies in 1066. So, in the English language, we also have sausages as a general term for all types of sausages. With a menu listing like this, you should ask for more information about the sausage, you may be missing something special if you pass. 

   

 Gratin Dauphinois is also called Pommes de Terre Dauphinoise. The potatoes are sliced, layered, and baked with olive oil, cream, and milk and lightly flavored with garlic for this dish. Some versions add onions, and nearly all add grated cheese, usually Gruyere, that is browned, gratiné, just before serving.

    

Gratin Dauphinoise.
Photograph courtesy of Le Journal des Femmes Cuisine

 

Velouté d’Échalottes - A velvety shallot soup. A veloute is one of the original five mother sauces, and its silky texture has carried over to soups. A velouté on the menu today will usually indicate a soup with a velvety, silky texture. (Mother sauces were the basic sauce in French cuisine and used for the preparation of all other sauces. Four mother sauces were first categorized by the organizer of French Haute Cuisine Antonin Carême. Seventy years later this group of sauces were reclassified as five by Auguste Escoffier, the most famous of the early 20^th century chefs).

  

Frying shallots with chicken
Photograph courtesy of Jeremy Keith
www.flickr.com/photos/adactio/16538142887/

  

Salade de Crevettes Cuite Épicée, Échalotes,  Coriandre, Feuille de Menthe, Citronnelle, Servi sur un Lit de Salade - A salad of spicy shrimps prepared with shallots, coriander, mint leaves and lemon grass. All served on a bed of salad leaves.

The shallot in the French kitchen

There are 13 or more different types of cultivated shallots available in French markets, and France is also the world's largest exporter of shallots. All shallots are descendants of the originals brought back to France by the crusaders.  Like onions, the shallot’s skin comes in a variety of colors with the golden-skinned and purple-skinned varieties leading the field.  Outside of France, there are more varieties. If you are lucky a USA or UK supermarket may have one type of shallot on sale, but farmers’ markets do usually have a small choice. The names will have changed outside of France so don’t be surprised.

A cut raw shallot.
Photograph courtesy of ~jar{}
www.flickr.com/photos/jariceiii/5408051159/

The two most popular shallots in France

    

Griselle or Gris - The Gray Shallot. The Griselle is usually considered the most delicate, though still strong tasting, of all shallots.  Griselle shallots, which are grayish-brown with a purplish-white interior.

   

The Griselle - The gray shallot.
Photograph courtesy of Prosemail

Échalote de Jersey - The Jersey Shallot, Pink Shallot, or Traditional Shallot is nearly as popular. It is a more rounded shallot and has a slightly stronger onion taste than the gray shallot. There are two types of this shallot, a long and a short version.

 

The Échalote de Jersey – The Jersey shallot.
Photograph courtesy of Cuisine à la française

 

The largest shallot.

 

Banane or Ovale - The Banana Shallot. The banana shallot is the longest of all shallots with a bulging center; they reach up to 18 cm (7”) in length. The banana shallot acquired its name through its size, not its shape; they have a taste midway between onion and garlic.

Banane - Banana shallots.
Photograph courtesy of Specialty Products

Shallots grown in bunches and have from three to six cloves. Shallots have very different tastes to onions that grow alone and to garlic than grow with ten or more cloves.   The milder shallots may be served raw as part of a salad, and there will be no strong onion taste to overpower the salad. Neither will there be a strong garlic smell or taste to hide the aroma of the other ingredients.

Lobster Thermidor
A USA version of the historic French dish of Lobster Thermidor made with the North American two-clawed lobster, a creamy Dijon, shallots, and a mushroom sauce and  Emmenthal cheese
Photograph courtesy of NwongPR
www.flickr.com/photos/nwongpr/35401408961/

 The origins of the shallot

The shallot originated in the Middle East, and its name comes from the city of Ashkelon in modern Israel.  According to tradition French Crusaders discovered them and brought them to France.  However, thousands of years before the crusades, Ashkelon was home to those Mediterranean wholesalers, the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians traded with all the countries in the Mediterranean, including Egypt, Italy, Greece, and the South of France. The Phoenicians brought with them many fruits and vegetables. No doubt, the name and more varieties arrived with the crusaders.

 

A view from a hotel room of the Ashkelon marina today.
Photograph courtesy of Planet of Hotels

French members of the shallot family.

For those interested in the varieties of shallots grown in France, PROSEMAIL, the French Shallot and Garlic Growers Association have a good English language website with pictures of all the shallots grown in France:

http://plant-certifie-echalote.org/en/pages/caracteristiques.php

Shallots in the languages of France neighbors:

(Catalan – escalunya), (German – schalotte, delzwiebel, skalonzwiebel), (Italian – scalogno), (Spanish - chalota, chalote,  escalonia).
 

-------------------------------- 

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

Copyright 2010, 2015, 2020

 

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