• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Pasta Project logo

  • Home
  • Pasta Recipes
  • Pasta Types
  • Italy’s Regions
  • About
  • SHOP
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Pasta Recipes
  • Pasta Types
  • Italy’s Regions
  • About Me
  • Shop
×

Home » Recipes » Pasta Sauces

Published: Feb 27, 2017 · Modified: Oct 11, 2017 by Jacqui

Busiate with radicchio pesto


Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Radicchio pesto; a delicious alternative to traditional pesto!

Radicchio pesto

Because radicchio has quite a strong taste and can be sour I served this pesto with Busiate pasta made from tumminia, an ancient Sicilian grain. The sweetness of the pasta nicely off set the slightly sour sauce to make this busiate with radicchio pesto perfect! (go straight to recipe)

As you may have realized from my other posts, I am totally in love with pesto!  Did you know that the word ‘pesto’ comes from the Italian ‘pestare’ meaning to pound or crush?  And really and truly that’s the only ‘cooking’ required to make this sauce. Just take your ingredients and pound or crush them (although nowadays we stick them in a blender or food processor and pulse!). 

Busiate radicchio pesto

If you look up pesto in a dictionary you will read that it is a pasta sauce made from crushed basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan and olive oil. And it is, well at least pesto alla Genovese is made with those ingredients and alla Genovese is THE ‘original’ pesto! However there are not only many other kinds of pesto sauces in Italy and abroad but in theory you can easily invent your own with a number of different ingredients.

Basic ingredients are usually leaf herbs or vegetables such as spinach, basil, parsley, kale; anything that can be eaten raw; garlic, grated parmesan, virgin olive oil and nuts like walnuts or pinenuts. In Sicily they make pistachio pesto which is super yummy!

round radicchio for busiate with radicchio pesto

For this recipe I decided to use radicchio or Italian chicory. Radicchio can be a bit sour so I soaked the leaves in water for an hour before making the sauce.  Then I used them with the same ingredients as pesto alla Genovese minus the basil, of course. The result was a delicious radicchio pesto!

radicchio pesto

Busiate tumminia were the perfect pasta to serve with this sauce.

Because radicchio also has quite a strong taste, I served this pesto with Busiate pasta made from tumminia. As explained in my last post, tumminia is an ancient Sicilian grain which was grown in Sicily from the time of the ancient Greeks until the 1950s when production was largely abandoned in favour of other grains because tumminia has to be grown organically and has a lower yield. However, it is regaining popularity because of its health benefits for people with dietary problems. Tumminia is low in gluten and high in fibre and proteins. It also gives the pasta a slightly sweet flavour, thanks to the sweetness of the grain itself. The sweetness of the pasta nicely off set the slightly sour taste of the radicchio pesto so the pairing was perfect!

Busiate Tumminia with radicchio pesto

 If you manage to find or order busiate tumminia online, I would definitely recommend this combination. However, this sauce can be served with any whole wheat pasta or normal pasta. Whichever way you eat it, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it’s a tasty alternative to traditional pesto recipes!

Buon Appetito!

(see the recipe on page 2)


Pages: Page 1 Page 2

More Pasta Sauces

  • How to Make and Use Basil Pesto.
  • 7 Italian homemade tomato sauce pasta recipes.
  • Trofie Pasta with Rocket Pesto Recipe
  • Pasta Portofino recipe from Liguria.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Buon giorno and welcome to my pasta project! My name is Jacqui. I’m originally a Londoner but in 2003 life’s journey brought me to the beautiful Veneto region of Italy where…

More about me →

TOP ITALIAN FOOD BLOG

3rd place in Top 50 Italian Food Blogs Awards by Feedspot

Italian Food Blogs

FEATURED IN

A few website logos showing where the pasta project has been featured in: Insider, Wikipedia, Food52, Buzzfeed, The Guardian, Parade

FOLLOW ME

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

VISIT MY SHOP

In my weekly newsletters, I write about my life in Italy, Italian places, traditions and culture, as well as other foods not just pasta! As a Pasta Project subscriber you'll also get a FREE recipe e-book series! Plus links to the latest recipes and posts.

So, sign up now and get the first recipe e-books to download!

Privacy Policy

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Legal disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Me

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Contact

  • Copyright & Disclaimer/ Terms of Use

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2023 The Pasta Project