Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Mushroom Paté with Einkorn Pasta

One of the first types of wheat to be grown as a crop during the Neolithic era was einkorn. 12,000 years later, this ancient grain is being cultivated again and in this case made into pasta. Nutritionally, it’s very similar to the whole wheat pasta I usually buy, but einkorn is touted to have twice the antioxidant capacity of durum wheat. I received samples of einkorn pasta from Jovial and was curious about the flavor and texture. Mushrooms always work well with the nuttiness of whole wheat pastas, so I had a meal plan in mind. I had just brought home some mushroom paté made by Kocurek Family Charcuterie which sells at our farmers’ markets. I stirred the paté into the pasta and topped it with some sauteed, sliced creminis. I’m easy to please with a plate of any sort of pasta with mushrooms, but this was a particularly good combination.

The Kocureks make their paté with mushrooms, almonds, onions, butter, thyme, sherry, and salt and pepper. It’s a smooth and fragrant blend with a nice nutty, woodsiness about it. Another suggested use for the paté would be in stuffed chicken breasts. I added texture to the dish by topping it with sliced creminis that I sauteed in olive oil with minced shallots. Once on the plate, I added just a little freshly grated parmigiano reggiano and chopped parsley.

With some whole wheat pasta, I don’t notice much difference in flavor from regular white pasta. Other times, there is a more noticeable wheaty flavor that I’ve come to appreciate. This einkorn pasta did deliver in wheatiness and was fitting with the mushroom paté. While I might want a simpler pasta flavor for more delicate dishes like something with shellfish, I think this would pair very well with all of fall’s vegetables.



29 comments:

  1. This looks really tasty! Do you know if you can get einkorn pasta locally? I typically use wheat pasta as well and now we're so acsustomed to the flavor, plain pasta seeems lacking.

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  2. Speaking of lack, it appears I can't type this morning. Sorry for my typo riddled comment!(I double checked this one!)

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  3. Never heard of einkorn but I love whole grain pasta so I bet I would dig it. And I have to keep an eye out for that mushroom pate! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. wow... this looks so good and mushroom pate sounds just awesome:) thanks for sharing.

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  5. Hi there-Lisa Bell from Jovial here. Our Whole Grain Einkorn pasta is available nationwide at Whole Foods and at many independent natural food stores. If your store doesn't carry it yet, they can order it through distributor UNFI. It's also for sale on Amazon.com. Enjoy and thanks Lisa for the yummy recipe idea!

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  6. That pasta dish looks absolutely divine. I'll keep my beady little eyes open for Einkorn :)
    *kisses* HH

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  7. I'll have to keep my eyes open for the Einkorn pasta. I'm always looking for new whole grain pastas...love the nutty flavor they have.

    That mushroom pate sounds divine! As I've never seen it around here, I think I might try making it.

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  8. Wow - I love the history, and I had never heard of Einkorn before -- but after reading your post I took a look and sure enough, our Whole Foods carries it. Bought a box and can't wait to try it. Thanks for bringing it out of the Neolithic era!

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  9. Yay! Anthropology an food combined!

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  10. The mushroom pate sounds amazing! I can imagine how earthy and nutty it is!

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  11. Soba is by far my favorite type of noodles, I wonder how this one compares with it.

    Lovely pasta you came up with, Lisa... I was also quite taken by the mushroom pate

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  12. the pate looks glorious, I will have to look for this pasta, great post

    sweetlife

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  13. Wow, I'm intrigued. I would love to try that pasta. And how lucky are you that you can buy veg pate already made? This looks like a classic and delicious combination.

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  14. Hm, I've never heard of einkorn before.. I'll have to keep my eye out for that! I love the idea of mushroom pate. I could gobble that right up. Other kinds of pate though... not so much.

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  15. This pasta looks amazing. I have never tried eikorn -thanks for sharing a new ingredient with us. All of those mushrooms sound awesome. Just submitted to Stumble Upon :)

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  16. I bet that pasta dish tastes wonderful.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  17. I have never heard of einkorn before...but wholewheat is always good for me. I like mushrooms in pasta.

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  18. Never heard of einkorn but your pasta dish looks divine!

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  19. Wow you learn something new every day! I have never heard of einkorn before so thankyou Lisa! :)

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  20. I'm quite intrigued by this pasta as I've heard of it before but have never heard of the grain. You definitely paired it with the right ingredients. Earthy flavors for a wheaty pasta.

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  21. This looks amazingly delicious! Beautiful photos!

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  22. Wow! Beautiful work Lisa! You've made an incredible dish of Jovial einkorn pasta!

    The incredible thing about einkorn is how it matches up against other types of wheat nutritionally: http://www.einkorn.com/types-of-wheat-nutritional-content-health-benefits-comparison/

    Whole Grain Einkorn Berries can also be purchased at http://www.einkorn.com/where-to-buy-einkorn/

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  23. I've read of einkorn wheat but I've yet to try it - I am sure that it paired wonderfully with the mushrooms (always a winning combination in my book!) Have been wanting to make mushroom pate and now I think I am going to have to move it up on my "to do" list!!

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  24. I have eaten Einkorn & it does have a noticeably wheaty flavour, I've not been able to find the brand for ever though.

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  25. Einkorn is new to me - will have to keep an eye out for it. The whole dish looks delicious!

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  26. mushrooms automatically make a dish look rustic (which is a good thing) and, in my opinion, unappetizing (which is a bad thing). i won't lie, though--i'd give your dish a try. :)

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  27. I've never heard of Einkorn, but the end result looks absolutely delicious. I agree that mushrooms go really well with wholewheat pastas and this looks like a fine example!

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  28. This looks like a fantastic dish. That last photo in particular has my mouth watering and has me hungry from some of this dish.

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  29. Oh wow, this just looks amazing, although that being said, anything with mushrooms is guaranteed to catch my eye. Another recipe to the list of must try soon!

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