Pasta can be swapped out for whole grains in most Italian dishes including this fresh tomato farro puttanesca, transforming this classic.
These days all I crave for dinner is pasta. I want giant bowls of noodles with juicy tomatoes and salty shards of Parmesan.
To me that just tastes like August.
But I am a guilt-ridden carb addict. I get derailed by any sort of white flour or bread product.
Please know that there is absolutely nothing wrong with pasta.
Lately, I’ve been into chickpea and other alternative pastas because they have more nutrition than the plain version.
I’ve also been experimenting–trying to swap out pasta with whole grains and more veggies.
My latest test was a vegetarian version of a classic Italian sauce. I made fresh tomato farro puttanesca.
Farro looks like brown rice, but with a very satisfying chewy bite. It has a nutty flavor.
Farro has so much more going on than pasta.
Sauce is the wrong word for how my fresh tomato farro puttanesca turned out. It was much chunkier.
I started by sautéing garlic and capers in olive oil until they were fragrant. Then I added Kalamata & Castelvetrano olives and halved cherry tomatoes.
It didn’t take long for the most wonderful smell to takeover my kitchen from the garlic to the olive mix.
I kept the sautéing to a minimum.
It was only another 5 minutes or so on the heat before I folded the veggies into the farro.
To keep things light and green, I tossed in arugula and sprinkled on fresh parsley.
I loved the combination of salty olives and sweet, barely cooked tomatoes.
This farro can of course be served warm straight from the pan. I really enjoyed it most as leftovers.
Since I cook so much, I am always eating leftovers for lunch at the office. I stirred in more arugula to transform my puttanesca into a grain and greens salad that didn’t require any dressing.
PrintPasta can be swapped out for whole grains in most Italian dishes including this fresh tomato farro puttanesca, transforming this classic.
I have a few questions. How is “puttanesca” defined? I have never liked the flavor of Kalamata olives. Can I use other varieties?
You can absolutely use another variety of olives. Puttaneseca is typically tomatoes, olive oil, olives, capers and garlic. Anchovies are optional.