Perciatelli with Prosciutto, Wilted Radicchio, Gorgonzola, and Dried Figs

I went hunting for a way to use a beautiful head of Radicchio and some Prosciutto I had in the frig. Radicchio doesn’t last long. And presto, this recipe. It also uses some dried figs I had in the freezer (I freeze nuts and dried fruit to keep them much longer). As I made this recipe, I’ve adjusted it and I hope improving it.

This recipe make 2 main course meals or 4 for a first courses.

Ingredients and Directions:

• 8 ounces perciatelli (thick long pasta with a little hole down the middle) or use your favorite long pasta
• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cups (packed) of thinly sliced radicchio (about 1/2 a round head of radicchio)
• 4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch wide strips
• 3/4 cup stemmed and sliced dried figs (don’t use fresh figs, they will call apart)
• 3/4 cup good quality crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (divided in half)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley (divided in half)

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for 1 minute less than the instructions on the package.

In the meantime, in a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the radicchio, prosciutto and figs. Sauté until the radicchio is just wilted, about 2 minutes. As the oil is used up, add a half ladle of the pasta cooking water to the sauté pan. This will help further wilt the radicchio and soften up the figs.

When the pasta has cooked the desired time, drain it and add to the sauté pan. Add in the half of Gorgonzola cheese and parsley. Using kitchen tongs, cook over medium heat combining the pasta with the radicchio, prosciutto, fig mixture. Add a little pasta water if the mixture becomes to dry. Add some salt and pepper to taste (but be careful, the Gorgonzola and the prosciutto have a lot of salt already). This last minute of cooking will combine the flavors of the pasta and the condiment.

Divide and serve in bowls and sprinkle with the remaining crumbled Gorgonzola and chopped parsley.