Stuffed Radicchio Rolls
I grew up eating traditional Polish style cabbage rolls as a nod to my Dad’s Polish roots. Cabbage rolls are a comfort food classic; the cabbage leaves are filled with hearty ground beef and rice, onions and garlic, then coated in a homemade tomato sauce and baked until tender.
I wanted to make something a little different. This stuffed radicchio recipe is my spin on the cabbage rolls that I grew up eating.
In place of the cabbage, I’ve used radicchio, which I like for it’s interesting slightly bitter taste. Then I substituted spicy chorizo sausage for the ground meet. A spicy Italian sausage would also be delicious in this dish. I added lots of fresh herbs and some crumbled goat cheese for some creaminess.
The flavour combination is amazing – the spicy sausage playing off the slightly bitter radicchio. Definitely not my mom’s cabbage rolls!
You will need a fair size radicchio with large outer leaves to hold the stuffing. If you have a smaller head, use two overlapping leaves to create a larger area to hold the stuffing.
Ingredients
- 15 -16 Radicchio leaves 12 large outer leaves left whole and 3-4 leaves sliced crosswise into strips.
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 3 chorizo sausages (or spicy Italian sausages)
- 1/2 cup uncooked rice
- 2 cups passata (pureed tomato)
- ½ cup fresh basil
- ½ cup fresh parsley
- ¼ cup goat cheese
Instructions
- Cook the rice until slightly al dente, it will finish cooking in the oven, and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil or butter a two-quart gratin or baking dish. Separate 12 of the outer leaves from the radicchio head. Cut out the thick vein from the bottom of each leaf, making a V-shaped cut. Bring some water to a boil in a medium pot. Fill a bowl with ice water. Blanch the radicchio leaves in the boiling water for two minutes, then transfer to the ice water. Drain and dry on paper towels.
- Peel and chop the onion. Using a sharp knife, slit the sausage casing lengthwise along the link and remove the meat from the casing. Heat the olive oil in a in a large non-stick skillet on med-high. Add the onion and sausage meat. Cook until the sausage is browned and crumbled, using a spatula to break up the meat.
- Stir in the sliced radicchio, cooked rice and ½ cup of the passata and cook for 1-2 minutes, allowing the radicchio to wilt. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the crumbled goat cheese and the chopped basil and parsley. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
- Spread 1 cup of the passata evenly across the bottom of the gratin or baking dish.Divide the filling among radicchio leaves. Roll each leaf around the filling and arrange, seam sides down, on top of the sauce. Brush with remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and cover with remaining ½ cup of the passata.
- Bake uncovered 25 -30 minutes, or until sauce is bubbling and filling registers 160°F.
- Serve garnished with fresh basil or parsley