Pasta with radicchio and orange-caper sauce

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500g penne
• 1 radicchio
• 200 g bacon
• 1 orange(s), the juice
• 65 g olives, black and pitted
• 20 g capers
• 80 g Parmesan
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• 1 onion(s)
• 2 cloves garlic
• Salt
• pepper
• 2 stalks of basil

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 10 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

unusual, but very tasty

Roast the pine nuts in a pan without oil until browned (stirring regularly, otherwise they’ll burn quickly). Then set aside. Dice the bacon, onion, and garlic and fry in a large pan (you don’t need any more oil; the bacon has enough fat). Wash the radicchio, peel off the outer leaves, and cut into coarse strips. This is best done by quartering the radicchio, removing the stalk with a diagonal cut, and then simply cutting the quarters into strips (not too finely). When the onions are translucent, add the radicchio and cook briefly so it still has a bit of bite. Meanwhile, cook the pasta and mix the sauce. For the sauce, mix the squeezed orange juice, roughly chopped olives, and capers, and season with salt and pepper. Be careful with the salt, as the bacon and Parmesan are also salty; add more seasoning if necessary. Grate the Parmesan and set aside. Now pour the sauce over the radicchio and bacon mixture and let it soften a little (2 minutes is enough). Drain the pasta, reserving a ladleful of the pasta water. Add the sauce, the reserved pasta water, and the grated Parmesan to the pasta and stir thoroughly. Finally, add the torn and, if desired, sliced ​​basil leaves.