Fregola With Asparagus and Gorgonzola
Dinner in 30 Minutes
- Course: Main Course
- Features: Fast, Kid-Friendly
Summary:
Think of this dish as an unfussy, roly-poly risotto, achieved with less stirring and packed with some of the young, tender asparagus that has just cropped up in produce departments. Fregola, a small, round toasted pasta, hails from Sardinia, but the cheese it's paired with here is from mainland Italy.
We found fregola at the Italian Store in Arlington (703-528-6266) and at Cornucopia in Bethesda (301-652-1625); it can be ordered through several online purveyors. Toasted Israeli couscous is an acceptable substitute.
Serve with a frisee or endive salad and a glass of the same, good dry white wine you cooked with.
4 servings
Ingredients:
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 medium shallot
- 1 pound asparagus, preferably with thin stalks
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 ounces fregola (may substitute toasted Israeli couscous)
- 1/2 cup dry, full-bodied white wine, such as a vermentino
- 3 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Bring the chicken broth almost to a boil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan.
Meanwhile, chop the shallot. Cut off the tough ends of the asparagus and cut the stalks crosswise into 2-inch pieces.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a separate large saucepan over medium heat until the oil shimmers. Add the chopped shallot and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden (watch carefully to avoid burning). Add the asparagus and cook for 30 seconds, stirring to coat evenly.
Add the fregola to the asparagus and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to toast the pasta. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes or until it is absorbed, then add all of the hot broth. Cover partially and cook, stirring often, for about 15 minutes or until the mixture is creamy and the fregola has gotten fatter.
Remove from the heat and add the Gorgonzola, stirring to combine. Then add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the pasta rest for 2 minutes before serving.
Recipe Source:
Adapted from "Sweet Myrtle and Bitter Honey: The Mediterranean Flavors of Sardinia," by Efisio Harris (Rizzoli, 2007).
E-mail the Food Section with recipe questions.
(Julia Ewan - The Washington Post)
