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tagliatelle with radicchio and arugula

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Talk about simple -- here is a delightful combination for fresh tagliatelle (or fettuccine), with just radicchio and arugula (rocket in some quarters). I remember well a few weeks in the winter in Vincenza, where the clever combinations of pasta and radicchio brought color and life to the chilly, foggy evenings. This recipe is adapted from Antonio Carlucci, proprietor of the eponymous restaurant in Covent Garden.

for the sauce:

four tablespoons olive oil
one clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
one small onion, peeled and diced
one-quarter pound prosciutto or ham, cut into thin, short strips of about a half inch
two tablespoons red wine
six ounces of radicchio, about a cup, finely chopped
four ounces of arugula, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper

for the pasta:

one pound freshly made tagliatelle, (see how to make fresh egg pasta).

Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, and cook until it starts to sizzle. Add the onion and the ham and cook for about three minutes, until the onion is soft. Add the red wine and cook for a minute or so, until the wine evaporates.

Add the radicchio and cook for just long enough for it to soften. Add a teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground pepper.

Meanwhile bring 4-5 quarts of water to a raging boil. Add two tablespoons of salt and then the pasta. Stir. Check regularly and stop when the pasta is al dente. Drain.

Return the sauce to heat. Add the pasta. Stir. Check for salt and pepper. Add the radicchio. Cover and cook for a minute. Serve.