Italian Food Lovers

Let’s start the New Year with a couple of Academia Barilla gourmet recipes, a New Year present sent in by Barilla USA Executive Chef Lorenzo Boni. Chef Boni proposes today a delicious pasta dish, spaghetti with fresh herbs and Academia Barilla Pecorino Gran Cru, followed by a simple but yummy artichoke salad, that make a perfect complement to the pasta dish.

Chef Lorenzo Boni suggests to prepare the artichoke salad in parallel, so that you can be ready to serve a complete light gourmet meal at the same time.

In this cooking session just for friends at the Barilla US headquarters, Chef Boni got some help from Academia Barilla Italian Culinary Specialist and Iron Chef Judge Mario Rizzotti, the guy with wearing in black in the pictures below, who couldn’t resist tasting during preparation!

Ready? Let’s go to the kitchen!

SPAGHETTI WITH FRESH HERBS AND ACADEMIA BARILLA PECORINO GRAN CRU

INGREDIENTS
(serves 4)

- 1 lb of Barilla spaghetti
- 1/2 cup of Academia Barilla Monti Iblei DOP extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon of chopped mint
- 1/2 tablespoon of chopped marjoram
- 1/2 tablespoon of chopped chives
- 1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon chopped sage
- 1 tablespoons of chopped basil
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3/4 cup grated Academia Barilla Pecorino Gran Cru
- 1 tablespoon butter
- salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

Boil the pasta according to the directions on the box, but cook it for a 2-3 minutes under the recommended cooking time.

When the pasta is half way cooked, mix all of the herbs together in a small sauté pan with the Academia Barilla Monti Iblei extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Sauté for 1-2 minutes.

When the pasta is ready, drain it, saving 1 cup of the water the pasta was boiled in and add this 1 cup of water to the mixture of herbs in the sauté pan. Then add the drained pasta to the sauté pan and gently mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

When the water turns into a creamy texture, turn the heat off, and stir in the 3/4 cup of grated Academia Barilla Pecorino Gran Cru and butter. Gently stir.

Plate the pasta and place a few thin shavings of the Academia Barilla Pecorino Gran Cru on the top.

Serve and enjoy!

ARTICHOKE SALAD

INGREDIENTS
(serves 4)

- 4 medium sized artichokes
- 1 medium lemon
- Academia Barilla Black Olive Sicilian Sea Salt
- 1/2 cup Academia Barilla Monti Iblei DOP extra virgin olive oil
- 4-6 ounces of shaved slices of Academia Barilla Pecorino Gran Cru
- pepper to taste

PREPARATION

Wash, clean (removing the outer layer) and cut the artichokes in half. Slice the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a medium sized ceramic or glass bowl.

Remove the center of the artichoke and discard. With the remaining artichoke, slice thinly and place in the ceramic bowl (the lemon juice will keep the artichoke from discoloring). Mix the cut artichokes in the lemon juice and drain.

Add the Academia Barilla Monti Iblei DOP extra virgin olive oil, a few pinches of Academia Barilla Black Olive Sicilian Sea Salt and pepper to taste.

Plate the artichoke salad and place a few shavings of the Academia Barilla Pecorino Gran Cru on top.

Serve and enjoy!

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