(originally published here 5/30/2011)
It all started with a mystery ingredient in the chefs basket on the Food Network show, "Chopped". The ingredient was Fregula--a small round pasta from Sardinia. Ronnie searched for it at the Italian grocers in Hartford--the Italian-straight from Italy had never heard of it and when I described it over the phone to him, he suggested I use Acini de pepe (translation: peppercorn). Ronnie picked up a couple of boxes and because he left the next day for Richmond, it started Meghan and I on a week-long mission of coming up with ways to use it as we had the opportunity to mess up the kitchen as much as we wanted. We discovered we LOVED this type of pasta, as you can add anything you want. We even tried pan-toasting it the next day to see if we could add a 'crunch' to it. Alas, the tiny little pearls of goodness kept wanting to pop out of the pan.
Anyway, here our recipe-if you can call it that:
It can be served hot, cold…or my favorite--room temp. You can add anything you have on hand…..the secret is to sauté the garlic in browned butter. In a large bowl, I put whatever ‘stuff’ I want to add, I then pour over the browned butter mixture, then mix in the freshly cooked hot pasta. IMPORTANT; dry out the pasta!!
It all started with a mystery ingredient in the chefs basket on the Food Network show, "Chopped". The ingredient was Fregula--a small round pasta from Sardinia. Ronnie searched for it at the Italian grocers in Hartford--the Italian-straight from Italy had never heard of it and when I described it over the phone to him, he suggested I use Acini de pepe (translation: peppercorn). Ronnie picked up a couple of boxes and because he left the next day for Richmond, it started Meghan and I on a week-long mission of coming up with ways to use it as we had the opportunity to mess up the kitchen as much as we wanted. We discovered we LOVED this type of pasta, as you can add anything you want. We even tried pan-toasting it the next day to see if we could add a 'crunch' to it. Alas, the tiny little pearls of goodness kept wanting to pop out of the pan.
Anyway, here our recipe-if you can call it that:
It can be served hot, cold…or my favorite--room temp. You can add anything you have on hand…..the secret is to sauté the garlic in browned butter. In a large bowl, I put whatever ‘stuff’ I want to add, I then pour over the browned butter mixture, then mix in the freshly cooked hot pasta. IMPORTANT; dry out the pasta!!
DIRECTIONS: Melt a couple of tablespoons butter in sauce pan, as foam subsides and starts to brown, add some good quality extra virgin olive oil and minced garlic (I squeeze it right out of a garlic press into the butter). Add some red pepper flakes for some ‘zing’. Warm briefly…don’t let the garlic burn.
VARIATIONS:
- Kalamata olives and sautéed garlic is the simplest version;
- Chopped sundried tomatoes, chopped kalamata olives and feta cheese (top with toasted almond slivers);
- Add chopped scallions;
- Try adding any leftovers you might have….I added leftover chopped roasted garlic-ly broccoli (topped with toasted sesame seeds) one time –it was fantastic;
- Arugula gives it a nice peppery flavor and gets wilted nicely when you pour the brown butter over it before adding the hot pasta. (or baby spinach works too)
- (I can’t wait to try some leftover grilled corn cut-off-the cob with fresh chopped garden tomatoes this summer!)
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