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Nastroni (a type of pasta) with sauce of fresh radish

(Nastroni arrabbiati "al limite dell'incazzatura" con salsetta al rafano fresco)

  • 500 grams of tagliatelle (nastroni = big ribbons) - egg tagliatelle
  • one root of radish as small as possible
  • 5-6 garlic cloves
  • 5-6 hot chilli peppers (the so called diavolicchi)
  • 1 vegetable stock cube
  • 1 small bunch of parsley
  • 1 spoon of preparation for asparagus cream
  • 1 decilitre of olive oil
Peel the radish root removing the skin and the external parts, more wooden, filamentous and harder. Cut it in the middle along its width, keep the lower half part and cut the upper half part in slices.
Cook the tagliatelle in abundant water, salty at the right point and when, after 2-3 minutes, they are quite cooked and start to come to the surface, take a blender and put the slices of radish, the garlic cloves, the hot chilli peppers, the vegetable stock cube and the parsley together with a big spoon of the hot cooking water of pasta and mix all these ingredients very well in order to disintegrate them. After this stage add the asparagus cream, mix once again in order to let the stuff become a little bit thicker (if it thickens too much add some other spoons of cooking water), then add the oil and mix once again in order to obtain a smooth and homogeneous cream.
Take a frying pan and put 4-5 spoons of the over mentioned stuff without any seasoning, fry it lightly over a brisky heat, then strain the pasta (that should be cooked in the meanwhile) and pour it, not too dry, in the frying pan together with the radish cream. Sauté it very quickly by turning with energy for 2 minutes, then add the remaining cream in the blender. Sauté once again and turn always over a brisky heat for 2-3 minutes more, then distribute the pasta in the plates, grate over each plate an abundant amount of radish (of the lower half part previously kept), then serve without adding anything else.
This is a superb, exciting and upsetting recipe, even its extreme simplicity and conciseness. According to your liking, by adjusting the amounts of hot chilli pepper and radish, you can render it more or less spicy… if you desire you can have a real and proper "oral violence" for a strong sensation, to take one's breath away.
The flavour of radish is very strong and characteristic, so that it should be adequately supported in order it would not become, after few "its", intolerable.
For this reason we have suggested abundant garlic, in the blended mixture, and the asparagus cream. According to our opinion you can obtain a "thicker" preparation, more armonic, more balanced even if it is a real "excessive" recipe.
The term "oral violence" used to define this type of tagliatelle (does not) hides a double intention.
The first intention is literal, upsettingly burning and aromatic, and is produced by the immediate effect of the real sensual experience given by the introduction in the mouth of the "desired object" (the "nastrone"). It is a violent sensation, very exciting and involving, but purely tactile, epidermic, subjectively intransitive.
The second intention is literary, it recalls the eroticism (a purely psychologistical "play", that is physically practised) and the postponement (a full intellectual sensual pleasure) to let involve.
Let's explain.
The immediacy of such a violent practice of oral pleasure leaves the "cavity" strongly excited - each papilla, each part of the tongue, palate and throat (this one by dilating becomes "deep") are lubricously alight, wildly stimulated - and in an extreme tension.
This situation produces desire, that means the search of more pleasure: the postponed and compound pleasure. As this is the first stage (violent, sensual, individual) it requires a delicate, fanciful and interpersonal completeness.
The "desired object" (of "pleasure" for the partner), now, is starting to have new profiles and consistencies, uncommon (it is the world in the mouth, all the world) which titillates, massages with its pressure ("sweet violence") each papilla, each tasty buttons, so extremely excited, procuring the orgasm and the real (finally), complete and definite realising relax.
The "desired object", voluptuously wrapped and tasted in a complete and full manner (the sweet massages of the wrapping up, burning and blazing "sides") - at the maximum point of the excitement, strained, full of vital energy, at climax…a volcano…ejaculates the tremendous eruption: violent and roaring!
To calm, to relax…

A Giuseppe Alessi recipe
Translated by Gianna Toni
Picture by Kee-Ho Casati


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