Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received these products, free of charge, from Monograno Felicetti, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about them.
Have you tasted store pasta lately?
I mean REALLY tasted it?
If you have, you might be saying BLAH a whole lot.
And you're not alone.
Monograno Felicetti has introduced a distinctive collection of pasta from the finest terroirs, using organically grown grains cultivated across regions such as Umbria and Puglia, where the land is ideally suited to produce flavorful and nutritious grains that are then milled into the world’s most flavorful, nutritious and high quality pasta
The Monograno line of pasta represents the culmination of four years of testing of hundreds of ancient strains of wheat, farro and kamut, resulting in superior pasta that can be traced back to a specific organic field. In fact, Monograno Felicetti is the world’s only pasta produced using single varietal ancient grains. Special attention is paid to where each grain is cultivated, producing pasta with the finest terroir that is ideal for pairing alongside the finest wines.
This new pasta is not only Certified USDA Organic & Non GMO, they are Kosher certified. They have 3 times the fiber of conventional pasta, 30% higher protein content and a superiro nutritional value. Not to mention they have a lovely nutty flavor, and a superior mouth-feel. Plus they hold up to whatever sauce you can put on them, thanks to how they are die-cut!
We were sent a sample of the line to check out:
Matt Penne: Made from a special variety of durum wheat harvested from farms in Puglia and Sicily, Italy, This Matt pasta has an aroma that will bring to mind Summer- dried coconut and summer hay! You almost feel like you're holding pasta you just made while on vacation in the Italian countryside! This very sturdy penne pairs with many different wines, like crisp sparkling wines that clean the palate and bring out the pasta’s flavor of stone-baked bread topped with farm-fresh butter or floral reds, that highlight its sweet aroma of coconut. We found that it worked really well with a light blush marinara with fresh Summer vegetables. Miss Grace told me it was the best pasta ever! Course she is a bread addict, so the flavor really won her over!
Farro Linguine: The protein-rich farro for this linguini is grown in Umbria, Italy, and the pasta has a lovely aroma of toasted hazelnuts and eggplant, that just makes you want to cook it! The pasta also gives off flavor notes of peanut butter and sweet red dates, and it pairs well with red wines and full-bodied white wines.When I cooked this pasta in red wine you could really taste all the undernotes! It was lovely with sauteed shrimp, butter and veggies. Even Miss Grace called it YUMMY! We were all pretty impressed with the flavor, and would definitely buy it again too!
Kamut Chicciole: This pasta is made from an ancient grain cultivated in Montana and Canada, (let's hear it for North America!). The pasta has a light floral, fruity aroma that is also nutty with hints of macadamia and pine nuts.I cooked it in white wine, but it tasted great alongside a cabernet as well!
In fact, cooking any Monograno Felicetti pasta in wine, as in the recipe below, really enhances the flavor of the pasta and brings out ALL of its nuances. It really takes pasta beyond a pantry staple and into a gourmet food item! We also found that the pasta stood up well to whatever we paired it with, making each of the varieties suitable for any recipe! We all were very impressed and I can't wait to find these locally and to keep using them all the time!
And now for a sample recipe!
I took the basic idea from a recipe from Monograno Felicetti, and modified it for Louisiana!
Crawfish Cheesy Chicciole
Ingredients:
1 box Monograno Felicetti Kamut Chicciole pasta
1/2 to 1 lb shelled crawfish (depends on size of casserole dish)
1/2 to 1 lb shelled crawfish (depends on size of casserole dish)
1/4 cp trinity (green and red pepper, white onion)1 1/2 cups white wine
1 cup cream3 slices bacon
2- 4 tbsp Rotel tomatoes (use per taste)1 1/2 cups cheese- I used a mix of Mozzarella, Parmessan, Queso and Jack,
with a touch of Cheddar for the topping
Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Directions
1. Fry bacon, set aside to drain on a paper towel, leave bacon grease in pan.
2. Preheat oven to 350, coat casserole dish with butter (or olive oil)
3. Boil Chicciole pasta in water, for 3 minutes and then drain, then crumble.
4, Meanwhile, add trinity and rotel to frying pan with bacon grease. Saute for 1 minute, then add crawfish. Note on crawfish. I usually cook in one pound increments and if I don't need the extra 1/2 pound, I freeze it for adding to pasta, soup,or on a salad, during the week, for an quick and easy meal upgrade.
5. Saute trinity, rotel and crawfish until cooked. Set aside in bowl.
6. Add white wine to pan and add cooked Chicciole pasta. Cook until al dente, then drain again
7. Place a layer of the Chicciole pasta in casserole dish, add couple dabs of butter, salt and pepper, then layer of crawfish mix. Cover with cheese. Repeat (should get 2-3 layers).
8. Top casserole with salt/pepper, cheese, bread crumbs and crumbled bacon.
9. Mix remaining white wine and cream, then pour over the casserole.
10. Cover casserole in foil, place in oven and cook about 30 minutes.
11. Remove foil from casserole and cook 15-20 minutes.
Enjoy!
This is a quick and easy recipe that allows for lots of variations, but the Kamut Pasta REALLY made such a simple dish seem like it came from a 5 star restaurant. It is VERY rich however so serve with a salad to offset.
Right now this incredible line of pasta from Monograno Felicetti is only available by online order, including on Amazon! But I'm telling you once you try this AMAZING pasta, you will be hooked and happy to order online! It is NOT to be missed!
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