Fregola Sarda with Seasonal Vegetables and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
This recipe is a bit of a cheat meal, since it’s not whole-grain pasta. But the delightfully chewy texture of these little, toasted pearls makes it totally worthy.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Total Time45 minutesmins
Course: Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 2servings
Author: Andrew Wilder
Ingredients
3/4cupFregola Sarda pastapre-cooked measure
1/2bunchabout 10 stalks Broccolini
1Yellow Squashdiced
1TablespoonOlive Oil
2clovesGarlicchopped
1/4Yellow Oniondiced
1Purple Bell Peppersliced*
1cupCherry Tomatoessliced in half
1/4cupSun-Dried Tomatoespacked in Oil
1TablespoonOrganic Tomato Paste
5leavesfresh Basilchopped
1/4teaspoonfreshly-ground Black Pepper
Instructions
Cook the pasta as directed. In our case, it took 25 minutes, not the 15-17 the (beautiful) packaging recommended. Make sure you use plenty of water, as they expand significantly!
While the pasta is cooking, steam the Broccolini and Squash. In a separate pan, saute the garlic, onion, and bell pepper in the olive oil. Once the onions are soft, lower the heat and add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and basil. Once that’s all cooked, add the steamed vegetables and mix together. Add pepper to taste.
Mix the cooked pasta with the vegetable mixture. When plating, pull out the Broccolini (now coated in the tomato sauce mixture), and lay on top.
If you can’t find Fregola Sarda, I’d recommend Israeli Couscous or Orzo Pasta instead.
Notes
*Although it’s not necessary to use a Purple Bell Pepper, that’s what we had on hand, and it made for a nice detail. My second choice would be a red pepper.