Pale Green Radicchio or Verdòn da cortèl
A niche product announcing spring, that has been gradually rediscovered. It looks like a tiny rose and is sown under the vineyard rows, at the edges of the fields. The event/exhibit "Radicio verdòn da cortèl e tabari", held in Piazza dei Signori in Treviso in mid-May, has become a traditional event.
Congréga del Tabaro, an association formed by those owning the famous grandpa's mantle, organizes the event thanks to the Municipality of Treviso, Coldiretti, and Soppressa trevigiana Consortium, Pedemontana of Trevigiano Olive oil, Trevigiano rabbit, the milk and cheese producers of Veneto, chicken and snail producers, and the producers of the ancient autochthonous wines of the Province of Treviso.
During the event it is possible to taste the products of the tradition of Veneto usually eaten together with this delicate and particular vegetable product. In the local countryside, radicio verdòn da cortèl has always been the first spring fresh vegetable. It is sown in August-September under the vineyard rows, at the edges of the fields, or in the uncultivated parts of the vegetable garden, and is harvested in March-April. It looks like a tiny and bright green rose, with a diameter of seven-ten centimeters, tasty and crunchy, harvested by hand with the so-called "cortèl" (a sort of knife), removing it from the ground with its long root, the tap-root, also two cm long. It is a forgotten vegetable, second to the most famous regional radicchio varieties (radicchio from Treviso, Castelfranco, and Chioggia). Despite this, it has been recently rediscovered above all in the area of Treviso.
