copyright 2011 art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc/Maria Liberati
Editor: Caroline Walsh
Lavender, my favorite summer ingredient, has quite a literary and culinary past (and present)
Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram;
The marigold, that goes to bed wi’ th’ sun,
And with him rises weeping; these are flow’rs
Of middle summer, and I think they are given
To men of middle age.
Shakespeare from a Winter’s Tale
With summer around the corner, thoughts of what to plant on our gardens abound… With peppers, tomatoes, strawberries, and everything else you could be planting, this season I would suggest you throw in some lavender! It is the new (or albeit old) and upcoming flavor to add to an array of foods. My favorite recipe is a refreshing cold pasta dish. It’s made with fusilli pasta, fresh peppers, olives and fresh lavender, flowers. A summertime refreshing pasta dish with the fragrance of lavender and a spritz of lemon juice. Here’s the recipe for what is sure to be one of your favorite dishes of the summer.
Lavender & Fusilli Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 red pepper
- 2 tablespoons (30 gr) chopped olives
- 4 lavender flowers
- 1 lb (500 gr) fusilli pasta
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of ½ fresh lemon
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
- Cut and clean peppers removing seed. Place on cookie sheet under broiler for 10 minutes or until skin begins to burn. Remove. Let cool in a paper bag. Remove skin.Chop peppers. Place peppers in large bowl and add in chopped olives. Gently break apart lavender flowers and add to olive mixture. Add in olive oil and squeeze in ½ lemon and blend Set aside. Boil pasta till al dente. Place into olive oil condiment, toss and serve al fresco! Add salt and pepper to taste
- For more great recipes get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards
- June 11-12-See you at the Great Grapes Festival in Cockeysville, Maryland for wine tastings, and other events and The Basic Art of Italian Cooking demos and a book signing on stage during the 2 day event, For more info email: info@marialiberati.com
