Ingredients for 5-6 people:500 g spaghetti1 head radicchio of Treviso150 g shelled walnuts
50 g bread without the crust60 ml milk1 stalk of celery8 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (plus a little to drizzle on top of the finished dish)½ clove of garlic½ glass water grated aged pecorino cheese (at least 1 or 2 tsp per person)
1 pinch of nutmeg (according to taste) salt pepper
Toast the walnuts in a heavy-bottomed frying pan for 4-5 minutes, then remove some of their skin by rubbing them on a tea towel. Break the bread up and put it in the milk to soak. Peel the clove of garlic and then slice it thinly. Clean and wash the celery, slice it lengthwise and then dice it. Put the garlic, celery, walnuts, squeezed out bread, water and 2 spoonfuls of olive oil in the bowl of your food processor (if you have a stick blender, that’s even better) and blend until you obtain a sort of cream. Season with salt, pepper and a small pinch of nutmeg.
Wash and dry the radicchio, cut it into strips and sauté in a heavy-bottomed frying pan with the remaining olive oil and a pinch of salt, for 10-15 minutes, stirring from time to time so everything is cooked and seasoned evenly.
Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling, salted water; strain when “al dente” and toss it in the frying pan with the radicchio for a few seconds. Add the walnut sauce, stir well and if you see that it’s drying out too much, add a ladle of the pasta’s cooking water.
Serve the spaghetti piping hot, without forgetting to sprinkle half of the grated pecorino on top (put the rest on the table so your guests can help themselves) and finishing off with a drizzle of “raw” olive oil!