Leeky, Greek-y pasta with figs and radicchio – Fresh Foodie

We had a really fun harvest this week, ranging from lots of leeks to two giant heads of radicchio and a pint of Brussels sprouts. Inspiration struck and I devised a pasta dish that would use all of those, plus some leftover fresh oregano and herbed feta I had in the fridge.

Using the weekly harvest from our CSA farm in creative ways is really at the heart of my Fresh Foodie-ness, so I really got a kick out of creating this dish. I’m not sure what I’ll do in a couple of weeks when our CSA farm closes up shop for the season. Supermarket veggies just don’t have the same appeal, although I’m certainly glad we have a lot available to us.

Leeky, Greek-y Pasta with Figs and Raddichio
 Print This Recipe

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces pasta (I used rotini), cooked to package directions
• 1 pint Brussels sprouts, halved
• 3 leeks, sliced
• 3-4 cups chopped radicchio
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup Kalamata olives, halved
• 1/2 cup dried figs, halved
• 1/4 cup white wine (or fig juice from reconstituting the dried figs)
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil, whisked together with the vinegar
• herbed feta cheese, crumbled

In a saute pan, cook leeks and Brussels sprouts in a bit of olive oil until slightly browned. Then, add the radicchio and oregano and cook until everything is tender, brown and wilted. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Next, deglaze the pan with the wine or fig juice, toss in the figs and let cook for a few minutes then remove from the heat. Add the cooked pasta right to the pan and pour the balsamic / olive oil mixture over everything. Toss to coat and serve with the crumbled feta and olives (or you can just toss the olives in if you don’t have an olive-phobic husband).

We served this with some Greek blackened chicken, cooked on the grill. We simply crusted it with garlic and onion powder, dried oregano and basil and plenty of freshly ground black pepper and a titch of sea salt. Leave this out if you’re looking for a vegetarian dish.

It turned out hearty, yummy and very unique and I’ll definitely make it again. Maybe I’ll serve it with some spinach and feta chicken sausages next time….

Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Oct 09, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT