pasta con crema di radicchio, speck e noci

I’ll admit, I’m not really sure how to prepare radicchio. And I believe I’m not alone in that statement. Well, here in Italy, it’s in season during the winter, and they have found many delicious ways to prepare it. One ingenious idea I’ve discovered is creating a radicchio cream that is used in this pasta with radicchio cream, speck and walnuts.

In Italy, it’s very common to find simple pasta sauces made with blended up vegetables, which create this smooth, silky sauce but without using any cream or dairy. Of course, there’s always the option to add cream, ricotta, or mascarpone, which makes for an extra luxurious dish. However, you’d be surprised how creamy blended vegetables are on their own. This can be done with zucchini, peas, eggplant, red peppers, mushrooms, and radicchio.

One of the special things about radicchio is its deep purple and red color, which when blended creates a beautifully mellow hue that coats the pasta, making for a very appetizing looking plate. Its bitter flavor does remain a bit prevalent, even after the addition of other ingredients, so I would describe this pasta with radicchio cream recipe as having a more adventurous flavor profile.

Ingredients

Radicchio
Speck
Walnuts
Onion
Heavy cream
Dry pasta
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Radicchio is in the chicory family and closely related to endive. There are many varieties grown in Northern Italy, each with a slightly different flavor profile and stunning appearance.

While it can be very bitter eaten raw in a salad, the flavor is mellowed and deepened when roasted or grilled. It is also common to find it added to risotto, which is no surprise since there is a lot of overlap between the regions here in Northern Italy where both radicchio and rice are grown.

One of the beautiful things about this pasta with radicchio cream is the combination of flavors. To make this sauce sing, heavy cream does need to be added. The richness of the dairy mellows the radicchio and creates a smooth texture to nicely coat the pasta.

**Clockwise from top left**: endive, radicchio tondo, radicchio rosso precoce, radicchio rosso tardivo, radicchio semilungo

Next, we have the speck, which is like a slightly smoky cousin of prosciutto. It is cured in the fresh mountain air of the South Tyrol province of Italy, which is as far north as you can go before hitting Austria. Imagine pigs grazing amongst picturesque snow-capped Dolomite mountains!

Speck Alto Adige IGP [Indicazione Geografica Protetta (Indication of Geographic Protection)] is guaranteed to be made with traditional methods, held to a strict quality standard, and by only 28 authorized producers in the province since its first documented production circa year 1200. If you can’t find speck, small cubes of pancetta would also work.

Lastly, we’ll top this pasta with toasted walnuts. It’s not as common in America to see nuts on pasta, but I promise it’s delicious to have a crunchy topping. What’s great about walnuts is they are a naturally fatty nut which also helps in the mission to round out the bitterness of the radicchio. Pine nuts would also be delicious here.

Step by Step

Let’s begin making this pasta with radicchio cream, speck and walnuts!

First, always, when making pasta is to put on your pot of water to start boiling. There’s nothing worse than having everything else ready to go and you’re waiting on the water to boil. You know what they say about a watched pot…

Next, we’ll start to prepare the sauce. I want to only use one saucepan for this recipe, and since we always toast nuts in a dry pan, we’ll do that first. They only need a few minutes over medium heat; they will turn a slightly darker golden brown and you will smell their warm, nutty flavor. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Now, heat about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat and fry up the speck. Stir the pieces around until they are browned and crispy and smell heavenly. This is the point where anyone else in your house will appear to see what’s cooking.

With a slotted spoon, remove the speck to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain. Every meat is different and sometimes they render off a lot of oil and sometimes not. If you’re left with just a little oil in the pan, you’re good to move on. If there is a lot, just drain it off until you have about a tablespoon remaining.

Heat this delicious speck fat over medium and cook the onions in it. Stir them around for about 3-5 minutes until they start to turn translucent, and then add the radicchio. It might seem like a lot for the pan, but it will wilt and shrink. Season with salt and pepper, give it a stir, and cover the pan; it will steam and cook down. If your pan seems too hot or dry, lower the heat and add in a splash of water. This will also help to encourage the steaming and cooking of the radicchio.

After about 5-6 minutes, transfer this onion and radicchio mixture to a container that you use with the immersion blender. Oftentimes, when buying an immersion blender, they come with a tall, straight sided container that they are meant to be used with, because it is the optimal size to perfectly blend what you put inside it… because of science. I sometimes might use a straight sided measuring cup. You can also transfer this mixture to a classic stand blender or Vitamix.

Slowly add the cream and start blending. Continue to slowly add the cream; this will ensure a smooth incorporation and more luxurious sauce.

Add the pasta to the boiling water that has been seasoned generously with kosher salt and cook according to package directions. Set a timer if you are easily distracted-like me! And I aim for one minute less to really ensure my pasta is al dente. Before draining I set aside about a cup of pasta water to use in my sauce.

Return the radicchio sauce to the pan and warm over low heat. It will be thick and that’s ok. Stir in the speck. Start to add in the starchy pasta water one tablespoon at a time, stirring until you get a smooth, saucy consistency. Add the drained pasta, stir, and add in any more pasta cooking water if necessary. Serve immediately and garnish with walnuts.

Tips and FAQs

Cubed pancetta can be substituted for the speck.
Whole milk can be substituted for the heavy cream, but obviously won’t be as delicious or luscious. I would not recommend any milk besides whole fat cow’s milk though, as the sauce could break or curdle.
Any variety of radicchio can be used. Generally in America, the options are either the purple round or oblong shaped radicchio and either is perfectly fine. You might find some are more bitter than others, so feel free to do a taste test when raw to see what you like better.
Pine nuts can be substituted for the walnuts. While many other nuts do give a similar crunch and nutty flavor, I wouldn’t recommend them pairing well with this specific dish.