Pasta with Radicchio and Bacon

A great recipe from the folks at Royal Rose LLC, Salinas, California, growers of Radicchio, Treviso and Castelfranco. They supplied the Radicchio for this recipe and have inspired me to generate my own recipes using their products elsewhere in this blog.



INGREDIENTS
4    strips of lean bacon, cut into small strips
2    tablespoons olive oil
1    head Royal Rose Radicchio or Treviso
3    cloves garlic, minced
¾   pound dry pasta such as penne, fusilli, or others
¼   cup chopped flat leaf parsley for garni

METHOD

Before doing anything else, soak the Radicchio in cold water for 15 minutes, drain and coarsely chop. In a large sauce pan, bring 5 quarts of water to a boil for the pasta. In a large skillet on medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove to a paper towel to drain. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings in the skillet. (Do not pour the remainder of the drippings down the sink – dispose of in some other manner.)

Pour the olive oil into the skillet and add the Radicchio and the garlic. Saute over medium heat until thoroughly cooked. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in the 5 quarts of boiling water until al dente according to package directions. Drain the pasta and toss into the skillet with the Radicchio and garlic. Add the bacon bits and flat leaf parsley, season to taste and serve immediately.

OPTION

If opposed to bacon, skip that step, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to cook the Radicchio, and add ¼ teaspoon aged Balsamic vinegar when mixing the pasta and Radicchio together.