3,048 bitter recipes

This is one of our favorites. I add more lemon (yes, with the rind!). It's sooo good! Not bitter. I looked online to find it because I misplaced my "Award winning recipes" cookbook in the move. I use vinegar instead of wine (about half the amount) because we don't stock wine.

Broccoli rabe or Rapini is slightly more bitter tasting than broccoli. Blanching one or two minutes in boiling water then refreshing in cold or ice water locks in the bright green color. This flavorful combination of Mediterranean seasonings really matches it well. If you can't find rapini you can use ordinary broccoli with equally outstanding results.

Kransekake, a traditional Scandinavian tower cake made from ground almonds, powdered sugar, potato flour, and egg whites. A gluten-free celebration cake for Christmas and weddings.

Fall salad: crisp bitter greens with sweet sliced pears, toasted walnuts, and crumbled Gorgonzola in a walnut-oil vinaigrette. An elegant autumn salad balancing sweet, bitter, and savory.

Endive, beet, and red onion salad with a Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar dressing. A vibrant French-style salad with earthy beets, bitter endive, and sharp onion.

Vietnamese coffee (ca phe sua) with strong dark-roast brew poured over sweetened condensed milk. Two ingredients, layered for that signature creamy, sweet-bitter sip.

French Belgian endive salad (Salade d'Endives) with a Dijon mustard and walnut oil vinaigrette, garnished with walnuts and fresh tomatoes. A crisp, bitter, elegant starter.

Sauteed Italian greens for piadini made with spinach, broccoli rabe (cime di rapa), and savoy cabbage, boiled tender then finished in garlic olive oil. A traditional Romagna filling.

Refined Verona-style antipasto with paper-thin prosciutto, crunchy celery root matchsticks, and Parmesan wedges on bitter radicchio for an elegant Italian starter.

Tuscan white bean stew with spinach, bitter radicchio, garlic, anchovy, and lemon. A quick Italian-inspired pasta topping that feels both hearty and fresh.

Italian-style winter salad of shaved fennel, juicy orange slices, pink grapefruit, red onion, and bitter radicchio dressed with citrus-spiked olive oil. A bright, anise-scented cold-weather starter.

Authentic pumpernickel bread with a rye flour starter, whole wheat, wheat germ, bread crumbs, and caramel for color. A 4-loaf recipe with an overnight rye starter from scratch.

Italian rice and endive soup with fresh tomatoes, carrots, and basil. A light vegetarian meal ready in 45 minutes, simmered in vegetable stock with curly endive for a pleasantly bitter depth.

Spinach and radicchio salad with sliced mushrooms, red pepper, black olives, and Parmesan in a red wine vinegar and lemon dressing. A crisp, bitter-sweet Italian-style side.

Grapefruit mint sorbet: a bright, bitter-sweet frozen dessert infused with fresh mint syrup and pure grapefruit juice. A naturally dairy-free palate cleanser.

Braised chicken legs simmered in apple cider with shallots, bitter radicchio, and thick rounds of tart apple. A rustic one-skillet fall dinner ready in 45 minutes flat.