MEDITERRANEAN EINKORN PASTA

I found a winner. This dish is fabulous! Lucky that I made a double batch so I could have leftovers. I have been wanting to make something that uses fennel bulb and this recipe caught my eye. The added bonus was learning about Einkorn wheat, the oldest wheat known, thought to be first domesticated around 7500 B.C. I prefer foods that have not been genetically modified so have been migrating towards using "ancient grains."

This recipe is by Erin Alderson at “Naturally Ella” blog. I made a few modifications to make it vegan, oil-free and suit my family’s tastes.

Here is a video about how to cut a fennel bulb by Martha Stewart: How to Cut a Fennel Bulb

Here is a webpage to learn more about Einkorn wheat: The History Of Einkorn, Nature’s First And Oldest Wheat

MEDITERRANEAN EINKORN PASTA

Ingredients

8 oz Einkorn pasta (I used some Einkorn and some regular whole wheat pasta which I had on hand)

1/2 fennel head, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced (plus at the end I added some whole cloves of roasted garlic)

1 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed if using canned (I used 1/2 of a 15.5 oz can)

1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced

1/2 cup artichoke hearts (I used 1/2 of a 14.1 oz can of quartered artichoke hearts in water, drained)

1/4 cup oil-free sun-dried tomatoes (I used a chopped fresh tomato instead since my husband does not like sun-dried tomatoes)

Zest and juice from one lemon (Juice from 1 lemon was about 2 TBSP)

2 Tablespoons minced flat leaf parsley

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 to 3 ounces vegan feta cheese, optional (I didn’t use)

Instructions

1. If using sun-dried tomatoes that are dry packaged, let them soak in water until tender. Drain. Coarsely chop. Set aside.

2. Squeeze the excess water from the canned artichokes and dice. Set aside.

3. Begin cooking the pasta per package instruction.

4. While the pasta cooks, in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, dry saute the fennel. Stir constantly adding a splash of water if wants to stick. Once tender, add the garlic and saute until the garlic is fragrant. Add a splash of water if starts to stick.

5. Add the chickpeas, olives, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, zest and juice, parsley, and black pepper. Stir and cook until everything is warm, 2 to 3 minutes.

6. Drain the Einkorn pasta. Add the pasta to the skillet with the other ingredients. Toss to mix well. (If using, add chopped fresh tomatoes and roasted garlic.)

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