Pasta con Mezzo Balcone

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A simple yet hearty summer dish. Quick to make without generating much extra heat. (Rcp# 72)

Ingredients for ‘Pasta con Mezzo Balcone’

  • 1 large handful of arugula salad (or salad rocket)
  • 1 handful of plain ‚Italian‘ parsley leaves (save the stems for broth making)
  • 15-20 fresh basil leaves (25-30 if they are small, like bush basil leaves)
  • ½ teaspoon bear‘s garlic in oil or 10 fresh garlic chives
  • 10 fresh regular chives
  • 2-3 medium sage leaves
  • 2 tablespoons oat yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon dark balsamic vinegar (aceto balsamico)
  • 1 tablespoon of agave syrup
  • A pinch of ground caraway
  • A pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
  • 1 ½ tablespoons of dried, salted tomatoes, cut into small pieces
  • 250–270 g of medium-sized, dark edible mushrooms (cremini, king oyster, or shiitake)
  • 300 ml homemade broth (see [AnyBroth] or [Vegetable Broth] )
  • 6-8 pre-cooked chestnuts (maroni)
  • Whole grain spelt, oat, or buckwheat spirelli for three to four people
  • 3-4 tablespoons of plant-based cream cheese
  • Mild salt
  • Canola oil for frying

Preparations for ‘Pasta con Mezzo Balcone’

  1. Chop the arugula, parsley, sage, and basil leaves (plus garlic chives if you don’t have bear’s garlic in oil) and place them in a regular-sized dessert bowl. Add caraway, nutmeg, agave syrup, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and oat yogurt. If you have not been working with garlic chives, also add the bear’s garlic in oil. Stir well, then set aside.
  2. Gently wash and brush the mushrooms, then cut them into equal-sized pieces. Heat a large, flat saucepan with 2 tablespoons of canola oil. Sauté the mushroom and tomato pieces together. If using king oyster mushrooms, separate the stems from the heads. Prepare the stems first, then add the heads because the stems are much firmer. When the mushrooms are tender but still have a little bite, remove them and the tomatoes from the pot and set them aside on a plate.
  3. Use the same pot to heat up the broth. Add the crumbled pre-cooked chestnuts and stir until dissolved. Bring to a brief boil, then turn off the heat and remove the pot from it.
  4. Cook the pasta in about one-third more water than you normally would. When it is almost done, pour about 200-350 ml of the pasta cooking liquid into the saucepan with the broth and dissolved chestnuts. The amount of pasta water you need depends on the type of pasta you are serving with the sauce. If the pasta absorbs a lot of liquid, such as buckwheat pasta, you’ll need 350 ml of pasta water. For regular pasta, 200–250 ml is enough. Finish preparing the pasta and set it aside.
  5. Reheat the saucepan with the liquid, bringing it to a boil. Then, turn the heat down to medium. Add the herbal paste and mushroom pieces (plus tomatoes) to the saucepan. Simmer on low for 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir well, and add the cream cheese and salt to taste.

Serve the pasta with the sauce.

Makes 3-4 servings

You can prepare this without the mushrooms using whole-grain spelt spiral pasta. Let it cool, then store it in the fridge. Before serving, add 100-120 ml of drinking water, one teaspoon of lime juice, and one tablespoon of agave syrup dissolved in it, plus five to seven fresh, chopped chives. This will work as a noodle salad for any summer party. For an extra boost, try adding spicy or fermented tofu cubes or cheese.

Side Notes:

  • Those of you who speak Italian or Spanish have probably figured out the translation of the dish’s name. It’s “Pasta with Half the Balcony.” We used to prepare quite a few meals with the kids during summer holidays when they were younger, which is where the name comes from. A common ingredient in all these recipes was fresh herbs from the balcony. Lots of them. One day, the child responsible for mincing the herbs complained: “Oh no! Now we have to put half the balcony into the dish again!” I just had to honor that special moment by naming a dish after it. 😉

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