Radicchio Pasticcio

The Italian pasticcio is closely related to the Greek pastitsio (παστίτσιο), being a baked pasta holding some type of savory filling and held together with a béchamel sauce and cheese.  Unlike Greek versions, however, pasticcio is typically filled with sautéed vegetables and uses lasagna noodles.  One of the most famous pasticcios is the following from Veneto in northern Italy which is filled with Treviso radicchio sautéed with garlic in olive oil.  The following recipe represents a blending of two excellent versions of this dish: one by Faith Willinger in her 1996 cookbook “Red, White & Greens” and Paula Wolfert in her 1998 “Mediterranean Grains & Greens”.  Note that you can fill a pasticcio with any number of other vegetables, and you should consider adapting it for kale, spinach, eggplant, red bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, or whatever else you fancy. 

½ pound dry lasagna pasta
6 radicchio heads (preferably Treviso), cut into strips
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups milk
6-8 whole cloves
1/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups stock
1½  cups grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400° F.  Lightly oil a 9x12” baking dish.

Bring to boil a large pot of salted water.  Precook the dry lasagna until just tender, about half the recommended cooking time.   Remove from water, drain, and toss with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.

Toss prepared radicchio with 3 tablespoons olive oil, and sauté in large skillet over medium heat until wilted and lightly browned.  Add in garlic and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.  Remove from skillet into a bowl. 

Put whole cloves into the milk.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove the cloves.

Heat remaining olive oil and butter in the skillet over medium heat until the butter has melted.  Whisk in the flour and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Whisk in the hot milk and stock, and bring to a boil.  Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.  When sauce has thickened, remove from heat.

To assemble the pasticcio, first spread 1/3 of the cooked radicchio across the bottom of the baking pan.    Cover this with a layer of lasagna, then 1/3 of the sauce and 1/3 of the parmesan.  Repeat with two more layers, ending with the sauce and parmesan. 

Bake for 20-30 minutes until the cheese has melted and turned brown.  Remove from oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving. 

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