Stuffed radicchio leaves is a delicious Italian antipasto, easy and very quick to make. Fresh and appetizing, you can serve it as finger food during an aperitivo or as an entrée for lunch and dinner.

Radicchio is a type of lettuce with red leaves, excellent both raw and cooked. The peculiarity of this vegetable is that it has a slightly bitter taste, especially when cooked.

In this easy recipe, radicchio is served raw, with its separate leaves used as a bowl. Fill these leaves with a delicious cream made with mascarpone cheese, capers and anchovies (see other filling variations in the paragraph below).Choose fairly large radicchio leaves. A size that allows you to put in the right amount of filling.

In Italy, stuffed radicchio leaves are called "barchette" (little boats) because of their concave shape, which, once stuffed, resembles small boats.

Everyone loves these "barchette di radicchio" because they combine the bitterness of radicchio with the sweetness of mascarpone and the savory notes of capers and anchovies! A real delight!

So let's see how to make this tasty and easy Italian antipasto: radicchio leaves stuffed with mascarpone, capers and anchovies.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Storage
Variations and Tips
Recipe Card

Ingredients

Prep Time: 15 Min
Cook Time: 0 Min
Servings: 6

About 12 leaves of red radicchio
150 g (¾ cup) of mascarpone cheese. You can even make your own mascarpone cheese at home with our recipe.
4 anchovy fillets in oil
25 g (0.8 oz) of pickled caperberries + more for decoration

Instructions

Step 1) - To make stuffed radicchio leaves, first prepare the radicchio.

Pick out the nicest leaves, preferably all the same size. Wash and dry them. Then set them aside to dry well in a kitchen towel.

Step 2) - Prepare the cream. In an electric mixer, put the anchovy fillets and the capers. Chop them coarsely. It's not necessary to reduce them to a cream.

Step 3) - In a bowl, put the mascarpone cheese at room temperature. Mix well so that it becomes creamy. Add the chopped anchovies and capers to the mascarpone and mix well. Take the radicchio leaves and stuff them with the cheese cream. Arrange the leaves on a plate and decorate with a whole caper. Here is your delicious antipasto: Barchette di Radicchio!

YOU MUST ALSO TRY:

Italian Sausage Risotto with Radicchio
Stuffed Zucchini (Ham and Parmigiano)
Easter Cheese Bread | Crescia di Pasqua Recipe

Storage

It's best to eat the stuffed radicchio leaves as soon as they're ready, so as not to lose the crispness of the radicchio and the freshness of the mascarpone.

If you have leftovers, keep them in the refrigerator for up to a day, covered with cling film.

Variations and Tips

As you can easily guess, this is a recipe that lends itself to countless variations, depending on your taste and imagination.

We have suggested an idea with Mediterranean flavors that balance each other well. The bitterness of radicchio, the sweetness of mascarpone and the saltiness of capers and anchovies. But of course there are many changes you can make.

OLIVES: If you don't like the taste of capers, you can replace them with olives.
VEGETARIAN: If you want to make a completely vegetarian dish, you can leave out the anchovies. In this case, however, we recommend that you add some spices. For example, some oregano or chili pepper.
TUNA: Another popular filling for radicchio leaves is tuna in oil. You can add some tuna to the anchovy and caper mixture or blend it finely and mix it evenly with mascarpone cheese.
SPICES: For a more colorful effect, you can add a pinch of turmeric or saffron to the mascarpone.
HOMEMADE MASCARPONE: Have you ever thought about making mascarpone at home? It is not as hard as you might think. You can add value and satisfaction to a simple recipe like this one!

Recipe Card

STEP BY STEP PHOTOS ABOVE!Have a look at my step-by-step photo instructions, variations and tips. That way, you can get it perfect the first time you try it!