Pasta with sausage, radicchio and cream

Pasta with radicchio and sausage

They say ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do’ and that’s what I’m doing with this radicchio recipe but making it a bit farther west in Sardinia! Romans, and Italians in general, love radicchio and use it in pasta dishes and in salads. Its cool bitter taste is really refreshing on a hot day and it goes perfectly with sweet or creamy dishes. When its cooked or grilled it loses most of its bitter taste but still provides a good balance to creamy sauces like the one in this pasta.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 400g sausage meat (Italian if you can get it)
• radicchio, about 150g
• 150g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 finely chopped shallot
• 150ml cream
• good pinch salt and pepper
• pinch of dried Chilli (optional)
• Olive oil for frying
• Trofie pasta, but you can use any short pasta

Method

1. Gently fry the tomatoes for 5 min until soft and add the shallots and fry for another minute
2. Add the sausage meat, mix well to break the meat into small pieces and fry for about 5 min until it develops a nice brown colour. Stir well and leave to brown for another few minutes
3. Cook the pasta in well salted, boiling water
4. Add the chopped radicchio and cook for a about 2 mins to wilt the leaves
5. Now add the cream, stir well and cook for a further 5 mins on a low heat
6. The pasta should be ready now so drain it and stir in the sausage and radicchio mixture