A wonderful warm salad for a chilly autumn evening
When we opened the Deli back in 1982, balsamic vinegar was almost completely unheard of in the US. In fact, it was still barely known even in Italy outside its home region. While it’s been made for centuries, it was mostly exchanged in the form of gifts, dowries, and the like, and was never sold up until relatively modern times. Today, of course, it’s a culinary icon. Always exceptional in its hard-to-find (we have it of course), handcrafted, truly traditional state, but also every day in the form of more “modern” adaptations made for 21st-century consumers to serve on their salads for supper every evening.
Basically, Balsamela is a nicely aged, viscous, super-flavorful first cousin to traditional balsamic vinegar, aceto balsamico in Italian. The dense, syrupy vinegar has been traditional in Italy in the same regions that have become famous for making aceto balsamico—Modena, Reggio, and Emilia—for a few hundred years. Balsamela was made when, and/or where, there were no grapes; someone decided to try using apples—“mela” means apple in Italian. Is it good? Oh yeah! Seriously, sensationally excellent. If you try it, the odds are very high you’re gonna love it. It’s so delicious, so easy to use, and such a great addition to almost anything from heirloom tomatoes to a hot-off-the-grill T-bone steak!
The Balsamela comes from our friend Andrea Bezzecchi, who makes some marvelous vinegar. Andrea works with apples that come from farmer friends in the Alto Adige region, up in Italy’s northeast corner. They’re organic, biodynamic (like the Podere Forte oil), and also very tasty. The fresh apples are pressed to make juice, that’s then slowly cooked down for hours to concentrate it to about half its original volume. Older vinegar is then blended into the fresh juice. It plays the same role as a sourdough would in baking, introducing the bacteria needed to convert the raw material into something magical. The end result is very much like a traditional balsamic vinegar, but in some ways, I like it better. Super dense, lovely, sweet but not too sweet (a bit less sweet than balsamic), slightly sour, tongue-tinglingly terrific. But since it doesn’t have all the wood aging on it, Balsamela is much more affordable. I know $20 for a small bottle won’t seem insignificant, but compared to $140 for a comparable bit of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale, Balsamela is beautifully manageable and marvelously tasty.
To prepare this very simple dish, coarsely chop the radicchio then sauté it along with a sprinkling of sea salt in hot olive oil until it’s soft. When the radicchio is soft, add a few tablespoons of the Balsamela. You can increase the vinegar further if you want the dish to be sweeter. Braise in the liquid from the radicchio and the Balsamela over moderate heat for about ten minutes. While it’s cooking, toast some walnuts, chop them coarsely, and set on the side. When the radicchio is tender, crumble on some fresh goat cheese. Aged ricotta works well too. Stir once or twice very gently so as not to break up the cheese, then sprinkle with a bit of full-flavored fruity olive oil (like the Podere Forte), add the chopped walnuts, and, if you like, more salt and pepper to taste.
To prepare this very simple dish, coarsely chop the radicchio then sauté it along with a sprinkling of sea salt in hot olive oil until it’s soft. When the radicchio is soft, add a few tablespoons of the Balsamela. You can increase the vinegar further if you want the dish to be sweeter. Braise in the liquid from the radicchio and the Balsamela over moderate heat for about ten minutes. While it’s cooking, toast some walnuts, chop them coarsely, and set on the side. When the radicchio is tender, crumble on some fresh goat cheese. Aged ricotta works well too. Stir once or twice very gently so as not to break up the cheese, then sprinkle with a bit of full-flavored fruity olive oil (like the Podere Forte), add the chopped walnuts, and, if you like, more salt and pepper to taste.
