Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Pears, Radicchio, and Brown Butter

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Pears, Radicchio, and Brown Butter

Here is a simple weeknight pasta dish full of fall’s flavors and colors. The sweetness of the ripe pears plays wonderfully together with the bitterness of the radicchio. Adding tangy, rich Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (get the real stuff for this recipe!) takes the dish to a whole new level. Serve this pasta as a meal in and of itself, or use it as a side dish for a simple roasted chicken.

Ingredients
1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
1 tablespoon salt
6 tablespoons salted butter
1 head radicchio, cored and cut into 2 inch pieces
2 ripe USA Pears, such as Green Bartlett or Starkrimson, sliced
⅓ cup chopped hazelnuts
3 ounces (about 1 cup very loosely packed) shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions
Place the pasta water on to boil, adding 1 tablespoon of salt to the cooking water. Once the water boils, add the spaghetti and cook according to the package instructions. In the meantime, place the butter in a wide sauté pan over medium heat. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes or until the butter is beginning to brown lightly and become fragrant. Add the radicchio to the browned butter and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, just until wilted. Turn off the heat and add the sliced pears, gently stirring to combine.

When the pasta is done to your liking, drain it in a colander. Add the hot pasta to the sauté pan with the sauce and toss with tongs to combine. Transfer to a bowl or platter and garnish with the cheese and hazelnuts.

prep time: 20 minutes
yield: 4 entree-sized servings

About Hilary

I'm a personal chef and recipe writer here as well as at tummyrumblr.com. I grew up in Oregon where I ran, hiked, looked out over great distances, and fell in love with all of the beautiful produce this great state has to offer. I've worked as a caterer, a farmer, a pizza tosser, a line cook, a dishwasher, and a cooking school instructor. I'm thrilled to be writing for USA Pears because it gives me the opportunity to learn much more about all of the different and distinct pear varieties that are grown here in my favorite part of the world.

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