Chestnut Flour Pasta with Sautéed Radicchio, Chicken Livers, and Grapefruit

chestnut honey, chestnut flour pasta,
parsley, radicchio

This is one of those recipes that snowballs from a basic idea until I have no choice but to give into my curiosity and try a recipe that sounds like a long shot flavor-wise. First, I wondered if chestnut honey and grapefruit juice would taste good together. They did. I wanted to carry the chestnut theme through the dish, and I had about a cup of chestnut flour in my pantry, so that got thrown in a bowl with some eggs and I turned it into pasta. Chestnut flour is a bit gritty and earthy tasting, so I needed ingredients that would not be overpowered by the chestnut flavor. Radicchio and chicken livers seemed perfect. Would it work?

It worked! It would have been more appropriate in autumn, but it tasted great! This dish is not for everyone - you have to be a true lover of intensely earthy, woodsy, bitter flavor combinations in order to appreciate this one, but if you’re anything like me and you can’t bear to not try something, take a chance on this recipe!



Chestnut Flour Pasta with Sautéed Radicchio, Chicken Livers, and Grapefruit

1 batch cooked chestnut flour pasta (recipe below)
Splash olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
12 oz. Chicken livers, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 T. chestnut honey
1/3 c. grapefruit juice
½ c. coarsely grated pecorino romano
2 heads radicchio, shredded
Salt and coarsely ground pepper
Handful coarsely chopped parsley
Pecorino romano shavings, to garnish

In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and chicken livers and saute for about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until the shallots are softened and the chicken livers have browned.

Add the chestnut honey, grapefruit juice, and pecorino romano, stirring gently a few more times until the mixture is well-blended. Add the radicchio, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the radicchio is wilted.

Add the salt and parsley to the mixture, stir until blended, and spoon over the cooked chestnut flour pasta. Garnish with extra chopped parsley and shaved pecorino romano.


Chestnut Flour Pasta

¾ c. chestnut flour
¾ c. unbleached white flour
1 t. salt
1 t. olive oil
2 eggs

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and blend, using your hands. Work the ingredients together until you have a stiff dough, and knead for 6-8 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour, if not overnight.

After the dough has refrigerated, use a pasta machine to roll out the dough. Don’t use the thinnest setting; chestnut flour pasta tends to be more brittle than wheat flour pasta. I recommend the 2nd or 3rd thinnest setting. Cut the dough into 1/3” wide noodles, and let dry for at least 30 minutes.

When you are ready to cook the chestnut flour pasta, cook it in heavily salted water and stir as little as possible, as it has a tendency to break easily. Serve with the recipe above.

Beach Blogging, Yesterday's Recipes

This post comes to you from the beach, where I'm sipping lemon water and watching seagulls pick apart crabs and clams that have washed up in the surf.  It's a damn shame birds aren't sophisticated enough to figure out how to melt butter.

Knowing that this could potentially be my last beach day until next year makes me a little sad, but it helps to know that once summer fades away there's plenty of fall food for me to cook.  Grilled steaks, steamed clams, cucumber salads, and frozen drinks will soon give way to pork chops braised in Magners, baked cod, butternut squash, and Sam Adams Oktoberfest.  When you love food, there is something to look forward to every season, every day of the year. 

Today would be the perfect day to throw together a great end-of-summer meal, but since I'd rather soak up the last of the summer's rays, I offer you yesterday's recipes.

Last night's dinner consisted of broiled grouper with grapefruit & mint salsa, risotto with fennel and pecorino romano, and a glass of my heavenly new white wine.  Really, who serves a citrus-y, warm-water fish with a dish like creamy risotto?  Answer:  Someone who doesn't have the patience to conduct only one culinary experiment at a time.  Friday, I yearned to try a mild risotto with my new wine.  That same day, I got my Daily Catch e-mail from Mercato del Mare alerting me that grouper would be available Saturday.  I've never tried grouper...the wine was open, and it needed to be finished...the grouper would not be available forever...  This culinary conundrum led to my mismatched multitasking.  Sure, the two dishes don't go together, but neither do army pants and a satin halter top, and that never stopped me from combining them!  Here are yesterday's recipes:

Grouper with grapefruit & mint salsa
1 grapefruit
handful chopped mint
1 habanero pepper, sliced into 1/4" rings
splash olive oil
salt & pepper
1/2lb. grouper fillets

To make the salsa:  Peel the skin from the grapefruit like you would from an orange.  Divide the segments, scoop the grapefruit pulp from the white pith, and place in a shallow baking dish (left).  Add the chopped mint and habanero slices to the grapefruit (right).

Add a splash of olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.  Stir until blended, then add the fish fillets to the dish, covering them with the grapefruit salsa.  Marinate for 30 minutes to one hour. 

Preheat the broiler.  After the fish has marinated, remove the habanero slices and discard.  Place pan in broiler with salsa still covering fish, and broil until the fish is flaky, about 7-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish fillets.  Serve hot.

Risotto with fennel and pecorino romano 
splash olive oil
2 shallots, finely minced
1.5 cups arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken broth, simmering (more if necessary)
1 fennel bulb, sliced into 1/8" thick strips
3/4c. grated pecorino romano cheese
3T. butter
salt & pepper
fennel fronds, for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.  Add the shallots and saute until they begin to soften.  Do not let them brown.  Add the rice and stir until each grain is coated with oil, then add the wine.  Cook, stirring constantly so that rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan, until the rice has absorbed the wine, as shown.

The chicken broth should be kept in a small saucepan next to the risotto pot.  As soon as the rice has absorbed the wine, add 1 cup of the chicken broth.  Stir constantly until the rice has absorbed the broth.  Repeat this step several times, adding 1/2 cup at a time.

Once 3 out of the 4 cups of broth have been added and absorbed, add the sliced fennel with the remaining broth.  Stir constantly, letting the rice absorb all the broth. 

Once all the broth has been absorbed, the rice should be cooked through and have a slightly creamy texture.  The rice should not stick to the bottom of the pan, but it should stay firm and not "run" when you scrape to the side, as shown in the photo to the left.  If this texture has not been achieved yet, you can add more broth.  Once the rice is fully cooked, add the grated pecorino, butter, salt, and pepper.  Stir until the butter and cheese are melted and fully incorporated with the rice. 


If you care about presentation, grease the inside of a measuring cup with olive oil, pack the risotto into the greased cup, and turn out onto a plate.  The risotto will keep the basic shape of the mold, budging ever so slightly.  Garnish with several small fennel fronds.