O Treviso, O Babbino



Treviso innamorata



Oh Daddy!

The radicchio treviso at the store was gorgeous, seductively cranberry and ivory in color like it's small, cabbage-shaped sister, but open and inviting as your lover's arms unfolding to welcome you in....wait, we were talking about vegetables, right?

Ah, yes, it was a veggie night, and I was picking up some good wholesome representatives of the Stuff We Should Eat More Of, but although the plan was to grill* up a bunch of veggies and separate them into Those Which Would Become Mexican Grilled Veggies (red onion, bell peppers, zukes, corn, radishes, scallions, Anaheim peppers, Tajin seasoning, lime garlic cilantro dressing) and Those Which Would Become Mediterranean Grilled Veggies (eggplant, tomatoes, red onion, yellow and red bells, fresh basil, pinot noir vinegar and olive oil), I was sucked in by the treviso.

And suddenly: I craved pork. Boneless, thick cut chops. Grilled, simply seasoned. So much for Veggie Night.

Radicchio is heavenly on the grill. It loses its beautiful deep blush color and turns a muddy brown, but it is all peppery and bitter and smoky goodness by the end of the process. I threw in some asparagus and figured I'd use some of the scallions as well, and maybe crack open that jar of roasted yellow peppers and slice some of those to join it. Grilled is one of the most delightful ways to serve asparagus. My cousin turned me on to that trick decades ago. It all came together with some pinot grigio vinegar and good olive oil. Mangia!

* the term "grill" is used loosely here. Stove top grill pan.

Grilled Treviso, Asparagus and Scallions with Grilled Pork Loin Chops

2 heads treviso

1 bunch thin asparagus

1 bunch scallions

2 roasted yellow peppers from a jar, chopped

2 tbsp pinot grigio vinegar

3 tbsp olive oil

1 pound thick cut boneless pork loin chops

Cut treviso in two lengthwise, leaving core attached. Trim tough ends of asparagus. Top and tail scallions. Heat grill until very hot. Brush all veggies with olive oil, and season with S and P. Grill all veggies until they have lovely grill marks and start to soften but still have some bite to them. Roughly chop all veggies and toss with vinegar, oil and S and P.

Grill chops until cooked just a bit past the medium rare stage: not tough as leather but barely rosy pink in the very center (forget what you heard in the 60s and 70s. You can eat pork that doesn't resemble shoe leather in both taste and texture and live to tell the tale). Thinly slice the pork at a diagonal. Plate the veggies and lay several slices of pork across the top.