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By now you know that I just love to share recipes and ideas with y’all. From time to time I get stumped, but generally speaking I am never at a loss for ideas. Mostly because I am surrounded by some of the most amazing Italian women that can cook a masterful meal blindfolded. Even a trip to the local grocery store can leave me with an abundance of ideas. And no, I’m not a shopping cart creeper. So if you see me in the market, don’t hide your groceries, lol. The main reason is because most of my family and friends shop in the same store and we somehow always get to talkin’ about “what’s for dinner?” Some people like to talk about sports or the weather. Me, I like to talk about food, what can I say.
Most recently, I was at the supermarket and I ran into a close family friend, Commare Giuseppina (In translation: Godmother Josephine). I never pass up the opportunity to say hello to her, she is always smiling and has the best sense of humor. Oh and needless to say, she’s a terrific cook. Anyway, a few weeks ago when we ran into each other in the produce section. As usual we got to talking about food. She started to share with me a pasta dish she makes with radicchio, heavy cream and bacon. It sounded amazing and I had to give this “recipe” a try. Knowing she would speak fast and without any measurements, I quickly opened up the “notes” on my phone and began to write down what she said. When she was done, I literally had a list of like 5 ingredients. I thanked her, gave her a big kiss good bye and told her as soon as I decoded her “recipe” I would make it and put up on the blog. Oh my gosh did she chuckle and smile when I told her I was going to call it “Rigatoni Radicchio alla Giuseppina”.
After we went our separate ways, I grabbed whatever ingredients I needed to make this dish. The next day as soon as I dropped off the kids at school, I came home and started to crisp, chop and saute this dish together. I literally took me 25 minutes to get it done. No sooner did I toss the pasta in the sauce, was my fork planted inside the pan. I was literally unable to stop myself from inhaling mouthfuls of this creamy, slightly bitter rigatoni radicchio. Genius, I thought to myself, just genius.
I’m so glad I ran into this dear family friend and so thankful that she entrusted me with her delicious recipe. Hopefully, you’ll give this a try and let me know how you like it. And if you see my Commare, thank her for sharing this amazing dish. Mangia and enjoy!
Creamy Rigatoni Radicchio
Ingredients
- 1 medium radicchio shredded
- 1/2 pint of heavy cream
- 4 slices of bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 shallot or small onion diced
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 cups of tomato sauce
- 2 large handfuls Grated Parmesan Cheese + more for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, cook pasta until just al dente.
- Cook bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Crumble then set aside. In same skillet, saute butter and shallots for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the radicchio and continue to cook until slightly wilted (aprox. 3-5 minutes). Add the bacon, sauce and heavy cream and bring to a low simmer until sauce is thickened. Taste for seasonings.
- Drain cooked pasta; add to the saute pan along with a few good handfuls of grated Parmesan cheese. Toss to coat and serve.