Today’s lunch was brought to you (me, actually, brought to me) by Radici — a restaurant in the city center of Lecce. Intrigued by the place I stumbled upon on my way to and from the laundromat. I diligently checked it out on the internet and saw that the place is devoted to fresh, local, in season ingredients and decided I had to go. I love that sort of food philosophy.
It’s a little off the beaten track, so it wasn’t surprising that the place was somewhat empty on a weekday during the off-season. (January). In fact, I had the place to myself, so I felt a little self conscious as I studied the menu (available in both Italian and English).
I immediately liked the selection of food: definitely inspired by what was in season. Cardoons and artichokes made more than one appearance in a handful of different dishes. The menu offered regional classics like fave e ciccorie, orecchiette con cime di rapa. Then there were some things I had never seen before… creative dishes still clearly inspired by what was fresh and good at the moment. They thoughtfully offered gluten free pasta options, and marked everything for dietary/allergy considerations.
I settled on one of specials, artichoke hearts with a creamy sauce… and olive oil, of course. I wanted to save room for dessert (panna cotta with pistachio caught my eye as I glanced through the pages), so I stuck with just this.
Sitting back, I looked around the dining area. It was charming with its eclectic furniture — mismatched tables and chairs — tied together by matching table settings and decorations. The vibe was warm and earthy, with a definite “wood” theme. There were photo murals of trees, leafy shades on the overhead lamps, and a wood motif bar… complete with a driftwood sculpture. Were they trying too hard? I don’t know. A bold choice, certainly. I didn’t have to think about it too long though, because my food arrived!
The presentation was splendid. Brightly colored flower petals livened up the otherwise drab green of the artichokes — you know the color. A sprig of bright green fresh thyme sat delicately atop the center artichoke heart. Lovely to behold… I almost felt bad eating it. Almost.
As an artichoke lover, this was heaven. The sauce was creamy and delicious but didn’t overpower the artichokes. They were tender but still had some tooth. The best part was when I cut into them and olive oil trickled out. (I mopped it up with a chunk of bread when I thought no one was looking.)
As an appetizer, this left plenty of room for dessert… or so I thought. I intended to order the panna cotta because I love pistachio, but the server pointed out a dessert titled TiramiSud. She described it as being Radici’s version of a classic tiramisù, but with rum and hot peppers. So, I changed my mind! If you are a die hard tiramisù purist, this is NOT for you. But for the rest of us… aMAzing!
I was fully prepared to be blown away by the spicy chocolate-chili combo that I have become a little wary of in the U.S. In my opinion, spicy doesn’t automatically mean interesting. The chef at Radici must share my opinion, because I had to almost look for the heat. It sort of peaked out now and again actually made my tastebuds curious about the next bite… would there be that hint of heat in that one too? Maybe, maybe not.
What really sold me on this was the texture, though. It was more cake and less cream than a standard tiramisù, and it was topped with a chocolate mousse-like layer and sprinkled with chocolate shavings and coffee bean. It was satisfyingly creamy, with a perfect foil of crunchy chocolate and coffee bits.
The bad news: I couldn’t finish. I made it a little over halfway through. As much as I wanted to eat the rest, I just couldn’t do it and I had to explain (again) that, yes, I did in fact like it. A lot, even. But I just couldn’t manage the whole thing. It was a substantial portion, and this is one of the down-sides of traveling alone: no one to split dessert with.
Here are all the restaurant details:
Radici
Via S. Lazzaro, 1B, 73100 Lecce LE, Italy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RADICI.LE.it