Linguine with Parmesan cream, proscuitto and radicchio

You know the comic panel that shows two scientists at the black board with the phrase "And then a miracle occurs" in the middle of the computation? (If not, check it out here.) Some recipes are like that. You're following along and then suddenly you're like what the what? Ideally, someone like me sweeps up behind the recipe authors and catches those gaps, but in this recipe I attempted to follow, I had to make some giant assumptions so I've no idea whether the end result reflects the intent. 

The picture in the book, while lovely, was no help, because it clearly didn't reflect the recipe in three different aspects and was just designed to maximize the lookiness. Perhaps it was an uncorrected advanced reading copy. We'll be kind and chalk it up to that.

Linguine with Parmesan cream, prosciutto and radicchio

Adapted from "Fiamma: The Essence of Contemporary Italian Cooking" by Michael White with Joanna Pruess

Ingredients

Linguine or other wider ribbon pasta

1½ cups grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish, divided

1 ½ cups chicken broth, divided

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling

2 teaspoons white truffle oil

4 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, chopped small

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 cups julienne radicchio leaves

6 ounces prosciutto, smoked ham or bacon, cut into thin strips

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Method

Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat chicken broth to boiling. Put all but 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Pour ½ cup boiling broth over the top. Use a stick blender to process until smooth. (Or use a blender if you don’t have a stick blender. Or be prepared for a messy whisking job if you don’t have either.) Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and the truffle oil and blend until emulsified. Pour mixture into a small pan, cover and keep warm on the lowest heat setting.

(If using bacon, at this point cook in a large skillet until browned but not crispy. Remove from pan and let drain. Substitute bacon drippings for butter in the next step.)

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium low heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent. Add radicchio, prosciutto (or ham or cooked bacon), thyme and remaining broth. Heat through, then remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

When pasta is ready, drain, and I mean drain really well or you'll make your cheese sauce runny. Pour cream sauce into a large serving bowl. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Add drained pasta and toss to coat. Top with radicchio mixture. Serve drizzled with more olive oil and a garnish of grated Parmesan. 

Rating: Mixed reviews. Dave really liked this recipe. My attitude was more reserved, partly because I was cranked off by having to guess at the assembly stage. I will say this: That cheese sauce is pretty tasty and could definitely have other applications. It makes a delightfully creamy sauce, aside from that one stubborn lump of admittedly tasty cheese, so it's like adding cream to a recipe when you don't have it on hand. I could see just adding garlic to the broth-cheese sauce it and calling it a day. I might try this again and go for bacon or pancetta.