Treviso is a leafy vegetable found all over northern Italy, especially around Venice. It looks like a cross between romaine lettuce and radicchio, whose burgundy color and slightly bitter flavor it shares. I like to wilt treviso and then add it to pasta with some creamy goat cheese to mellow its bitterness.

　　

Ingredients

4 to 6 servings

　　1 pound penne pasta

　　1/4 cup olive oil

　　1 garlic clove, halved

　　1 pound treviso (or radicchio), chopped (about 4 cups)

　　3 packed cups (5 ounces) baby spinach

　　1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

　　1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

　　2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

　　1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

　　1 tablespoon salt, or more to taste

　　1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

　　1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) goat cheese, crumbled

　　1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

　　

Step 1

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Meanwhile, in a 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and golden, about 1 minute. Remove the garlic and discard.

　　

Step 3

Add the treviso, spinach, chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook until the treviso and spinach wilt, 6 to 8 minutes.

　　

Step 4

Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta and Parmesan cheese to the skillet. Toss well, thinning out the sauce with a little pasta water, if needed. Season with salt, if needed.

　　

Step 5

Transfer the penne to serving bowls. Top each portion with the crumbled goat cheese and garnish with basil before serving.

　　Giada at Home by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2010 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by the Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.