I love the warm and cozy flavors of Fall, which I think come together perfectly in this pasta with roasted radicchio, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives. To complete the meal, I serve it with classic baked acorn squash. The flavors are a study in contrasts: the slightly bitter radicchio, the sweet tomatoes and acorn squash, the salty olives. To top it off, the pasta is garnished with Parmesan cheese, toasted pine nuts, and some fresh basil.
You can go directly to the printable recipe or I'll show you how to make it, step-by-step...
The ingredients. For this dish I have a preference for the pasta shape: orecchiette ("little ears"), the shape of which holds the chunky sauce. If you can't find orecchiette, any medium shaped pasta will do (bow-tie or medium shells).
Preheat the oven to 400° F. We'll roast 2 medium-to-large heads of radicchio. Raw radicchio can be somewhat bitter and spicy, but roasting mellows its flavor.
Cut the radicchio in half lengthwise...
...and cut each in half again lengthwise...
...so that you have four quarters.
Place the cut radicchio on a sheet pan and brush generously with olive oil.
Season well with salt and pepper.
Turn each piece so that a cut side is down on the sheet pan.
Roast in the preheat oven for 10 minutes; remove and turn the pieces over (so that the other cut side is down). Roast for another 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
With the oven still at 400° F, measure out 1/2 cup of pine nuts on another sheet pan.
Toast the pine nuts in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and shake the pan. Toast for another 3 to 5 minutes, until fragrant. Watch the pine nuts carefully the last few minutes; they can go from perfect to burnt in a matter of minutes. Set the pine nuts aside.
Coarsely chop the roasted and cooled radicchio and set aside.
Measure out 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil.
Slice the tomatoes into lengthwise strips...
And then cut crosswise to dice. Set aside.
Measure out 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, cut into lengthwise slivers, and set aside.
Finely mince 3 cloves of garlic.
Place a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Add the garlic to the skillet; saute for a couple of minutes, just until softened (and not browned).
To the skillet add the chopped roasted radicchio...
...the diced sun-dried tomatoes...
...the slivered olives...
...and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar.
~ Stir to thoroughly combine all ingredients. Remove temporarily from heat while getting the pasta water ready. ~
Prepare 1 pound of orecchiette pasta according to the directions in Pasta 101, reserving about a cup of the pasta cooking liquid.
While the pasta water is heating, prep 1/2 cup fresh basil. Pile up several basil leaves on top of each other...
...and tightly roll together.
Cut the roll crosswise into thin strips. Repeat until you have 1/2 cup of loosely packed basil.
~ About 10 minutes before the pasta is finished cooking, re-heat the sauce in the skillet over medium heat. ~
Add the cooked pasta to the skillet, adding some of the reserved pasta cooking water as necessary to moisten.
Garnish with the toasted pine nuts, basil, and grated Parmesan cheese.
Pasta with Roasted Radicchio
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup chopped or shredded fresh basil
Grated Parmesan cheese
I hope you enjoyed this recipe! To view more step-by-step recipes, see the complete recipe index.
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