Skip to main content
book cover for Radicchio

Radicchio

A Celebration of the Beloved Italian Vegetable

Sign In or Register Now to see if this title is available for request.

Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.

Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app


1

To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.

2

Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.

Pub Date Sep 29 2026 | Archive Date Sep 29 2026


Talking about this book? Use #Radicchio #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

A joyful, celebratory cookbook where radicchio reaches new culinary heights!

A once-obscure vegetable with a reputation for bitterness, radicchio has deep roots in Italy where it has long been celebrated as a central part of Italian cuisine. Over the last several years, radicchio has undergone a renaissance in the United States, inspired, in major part, by the work of Lane Selman. Radicchio is now appearing in top food magazines and on restaurant menus across the country, and people are catching on. American farmers are also growing more radicchio, as it performs well in the field and brings color and beauty to the winter table.

A captivating cookbook for chefs, home cooks, gardeners, and anyone interested in Italian culture, Radicchio offers easy, delicious recipes by contributors from Italy and the US, including chefs, grandmothers, and farmers for using radicchio in pasta, rice, polenta, pizza, with protein, in salads, preserved, and in sweets, celebrating the exuberance of the world of radicchio in all its forms and permutations. With gorgeous photographs showcasing the connection between Italian and North American culinary culture, Radicchio is also the first in-depth book on the subject, sure to be considered the ultimate resource.

About the Author: Lane Selman is a Professor of Practice at Oregon State University and a nationally recognized leader in the movement to connect agriculture, flavor, and community. In 2012, she founded the Culinary Breeding Network, a community-driven initiative that connects plant breeders, farmers, chefs, and eaters to develop and promote diverse, organic, and flavorful varieties of vegetables, grains, pulses, and fruits. By helping breeders create new varieties, promoting biodiversity and bringing people together, she has reshaped how we grow our food, and how we celebrate it. 

Margarett Waterbury is an award-winning writer and editor interested in how landscape, history, and culture shape what’s on our tables. She is the author of Scotch: A Complete Introduction to Scotland’s Whiskies and the editor-in-chief of Distiller Magazine. You can find her online at @margarett_maria.

A joyful, celebratory cookbook where radicchio reaches new culinary heights!

A once-obscure vegetable with a reputation for bitterness, radicchio has deep roots in Italy where it has long been...


Advance Praise

“This is a beautiful tribute to radicchio and the people who grow it. By connecting with farmers, cooking, and the beauty of radicchio at the table, Radicchio celebrates the importance of biodiversity and organic farming.”—Alice Waters, author of We Are What We Eat

"Finally! Radicchio gets the respect it deserves in this beautiful and valuable book.”—Mark Bittman, author of How to Cook Everything

“Radicchio is one of the great vegetables of the colder months—beautiful, complex, and often misunderstood. In this thoughtful book, Lane Selman and Margarett Waterbury explore the history, diversity, and culinary potential of Italy’s beloved winter chicories. Part cookbook and part guide, Radicchio helps cooks understand and truly appreciate these remarkable bitter greens.”—Joshua McFadden, chef and author of Six Seasons of Pasta

“With this book, bittersweet, ruby-leaved radicchio now has the spotlight it deserves! Radicchio is equal parts educational and inspirational—essential reading for gardeners, cooks, and everyone who loves Italian cuisine.”—Vicky Bennison, producer and author of Pasta Grannies

“A deep dive into radicchio like has never been done before; essential for the fans of this most delightful of Italy’s vegetables.”—Emiko Davies, author of Florentine

“Seeds, farmers, food, and community are the dots Lane Selman connects in this beautiful book. Rooted in her Italian heritage and her passion for this humble vegetable, Selman’s enduring, resilient work through the Culinary Breeding Network has helped radicchio find its way into the spotlight. She tells the tale of a true success story: how a vegetable can become a symbol of community and reminds us how much our everyday lives still need such small miracles.”—Abra Berens, author of Ruffage, Grist and Pulp

“To love something is to know it, and Radicchio offers an impeccably researched and generously comprehensive ode to the chicory that enchants farmers, chefs, and eaters alike. Complete with history, producer stories, garden and kitchen tips, and a whole trove of *chef’s kiss* recipes, tuck into this ode to find out why.”—Abra Berens, author of Ruffage, Grist and Pulp

“An immersion in the breadth and beauty of radicchio, this book is thorough, informational and inspirational. Gorgeously shot and a delight to read, I recommend Radicchio to anyone with curiosity about one of the most delightful lesser-known vegetables.”—Dana Cowin, Founder, Progressive Hedonist and former editor of Food & Wine magazine

“Radicchio is a gorgeous book of culinary and botanical history, written and photographed with an untiring passion for this captivating winter vegetable. The creative recipes are a vast celebration of palate and palette, abandoning any preconceived notions of radicchio; one is invited to worship at the altar of its many colors, textures, and forms. Inspired by radicchio's Italian heritage, its versatility in these pages goes well beyond traditional wisdom to include imagination and heart. The cast of characters devoted to radicchio’s cultivation and degustation is lovingly documented, and after spending time with this book, you too will fall under its spell.”—Sarah Owens, Culinary Educator and author of Sourdough

"Lane Selman has devoted her life to connecting farmers, chefs, and eaters with the vast, unruly world of radicchio. In this obsessively researched book by the subject's most tireless advocate, radicchio anchors the narrative, but the real subject is the ecosystem around it. Farmers, cooks, and landscapes come into sharp focus in a work that is at once precise and far-reaching.”—Katie Parla, author of Rome

"I thought I was a vegetable nerd, but Lane’s work keeps blowing my mind—even after a decade of collaborating on Culinary Breeding Network events. This gorgeous book captures that same sense of discovery, revealing the delicious complexity of breeding, environment, and flavor behind a single ingredient—and its surprising versatility in the kitchen."—Arielle Johnson, PhD, Flavor scientist and author of Flavorama

“Over the course of the book, in profiles of farmers and seed growers, in recipe headnotes, in descriptions of types, radicchio materializes as the poster child for our local food culture at its best: symbiotic rather than siloed, and shaping the tastes of the nation.”—Portland Monthly


“This is a beautiful tribute to radicchio and the people who grow it. By connecting with farmers, cooking, and the beauty of radicchio at the table, Radicchio celebrates the importance of...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781643265483
PRICE $40.00 (USD)
PAGES 384

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Reader (PDF)
NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)
Download (PDF)

Available to Buy

Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.

BISAC Codes

CKB085000 COOKING / Specific Ingredients / Vegetables
CKB047000 COOKING / Regional & Cultural / Italian

Average rating from 15 members


Readers who liked this book also liked: