Happy Monday! I am feeling full of energy and inspiration today and I hope you feel the same! You might hate me for saying this, but Mondays have never been an enemy of mine - I am always excited to start a new week. What makes this week even more exciting is that the first one of my new projects went live during the weekend and another one is to follow within the next couple of days.
In this project I will be posting recipes for my new Finnish blog called "Marian lautasella" (meaning "On Maria's plate) and for those who can read Finnish or are otherwise curious to see what I'm up to, you can check this website at http://www.pirkka.fi/ruoka/marian_lautasella. Needless to say I'm very excited!
The best thing about these new projects is that I will get to plan, create and test new recipes every day. I love the whole process of it - sourcing the ingredients, tasting and brainstorming, cooking and testing, and of course styling, photographing and finally writing. It is what makes me thrive, gives me energy and makes me so happy. I hope you can share this enthusiasm with me and I hope you are all doing what you enjoy the most!
Roasted fennel and pear with spelt linguine
(Serves 2)
1 small fennel, cut into wedges
2 Corella pears, cut into wedges
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp raw honey
1 tbsp orange juice
170g spelt linguine
1 tbsp orange zest
1 tbsp orange juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sherry vinegar
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
a few sprigs of fresh thyme, to serve
orange wedges, to serve
Preheat oven to 180C. Place the fennel and the pear in an oven dish. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic, honey and orange juice. Pour the dressing over the fennel and the pear and place in the oven. After the first 15 minutes, spoon the liquid over the vegetables and continue to cook until just tender (about 15 minutes). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
Cook the linguine 'al dente' for 5-8 minutes in salted, rapidly boiling water. Drain and place back into the saucepan. Pour the fennel and the pear over the linguine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the orange zest and juice, olive oil and sherry vinegar. Season with salt and pour the dressing into the saucepan. Season with freshly ground black pepper and toss everything to mix. Plate the dish, sprinkle with thyme and serve with extra orange wedges.
Have a lovely week!
gorgeous photography and food styling! drool!
ReplyDeletewow ive never tried pear with linguine before!
ReplyDeleteThis looks really nice. I finally bought some spelt flour and will be making some pasta with it soon :)
ReplyDeleteThe roasted fennel ... oh I'm salivating. I love Monday's too.. because I play hard on the weekends.. so it's quite refreshing for me, I don't have time though to have fun in the kitchen as much as you do, but perhaps I have to better plan my time = )
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I can use soba (buckwheat) in place of spelt?
It's very much like a warm pasta salad with fruit. Very interesting flavours. Geez I wish I had half the time and enthusiasm as you to cook and blog every day. I'm needing a personal assistant!
ReplyDeleteUnusual combination indeed but if it looks good, then should taste good eh? Happy Monday to you:)
ReplyDeleteI wish I had that monday loving attitude! :P Meanwhile best of luck with the new blog! How exciting!
ReplyDeleteYour enthusiasm is contagious! Anyway, I need to get a hold of my friend Anna G she is Finnish and lives in Helsinki. and tell her about your new blog! You are such an awesome recipe developer, photographer and food stylist! need to check out that spelt i keep reading about...
ReplyDeleteI have been seeing a lot of "spelt" food around...I need to look out for spelt pasta soon. this is a healthy light dish!
ReplyDeleteThat is great!
ReplyDeleteThat pasta dish is fabulous and must have a refined taste!
Cheers,
Rosa
So yumm, I love the way you have presented it, nice rustic look.
ReplyDeleteHand over heart, I have *never* seen any recipe like this! Absolutely ingenius, and as an ardent lover of roasted fennel, I must try it soon. Wow.
ReplyDeleteI love spelt pasta!!! Never tried the roasted fennel and pear in a pasta dish though....but then why not! It looks so delicious!
ReplyDeleteHow exciting that you're doing all these things! Love the light and healthy meal you've got here.
ReplyDeleteWhat fabulous combos! I've never heard of spelt linguine, at first I thought they were buckwheat noodles. It must have smelled so wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI especially love how you pair rustic cuisine with a rustic setting, the table, the cutlery, the napkin...you just stage the perfect settings! Your hard work is not lost on me.
Cupcake
xo
I love working with fennel. So succulent and rich and versatile. I love that you added pears along with it and in pasta for all things. This is a must try for sure
ReplyDeleteJessica
Maria, love the idea of pear in the pasta...what a lovely combination with fennel...love it! Have a wonderful week ahead :-)
ReplyDeleteI love your pairing pear and fennel with the pasta. So delicious!
ReplyDeleteThat's so funny, just today someone (the CEO of our hospital actually) jokingly grumbled, 'Ugh, it's Monday" and I almost said, hmmm, I like Monday's, what's the problem? ;)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunatly, I don't speak Finnish, but I'll visit anyway. ;)
I really love this recipe. The flavor pairings are absolutely wonderful. I adore fennel but my kids won't touch it.... yet. ;) I will absolutely have to make this however, all for myself if need be!
Cheers!
Very interesting! I will definitely try it! Thanks
ReplyDeletexxx
Hi Maria,
ReplyDeleteThis dish looks wonderful - such a creative idea to roast the fennel and pear together. I must try this some time. Congratulations on your new project!
Nancy