Penne Einkorn con funghi selvatici e pesto di carote

A friend of mine, brought me Einkorn flour…and was telling me all about the benefits of einkorn. The question is what is einkorn? Einkorn is an ancient grain form the spelt family, and originally from Italy. Einkorn is the German name for petit epeautre or engrain in French and piccolo farro in Italian. Not to be confused regular epeautre or regular farro or spelt.

This little amazing grain has not been hybridized, it remained like it was 10,000 years ago and has a shell so hard that makes it very resistant to weather or bugs, therefore does not need any chemicals. Einkorn has a lot of nutritional benefits (very high protein content) and most people who are gluten intolerant can actually consume it. What’s not to like about this grain?

So i got very curious about this flour that I decided to make pasta…the result is incredible, the dough is fine, smooth with a gorgeous texture. The flavor is delicate yet bold and nutty, needless to say, I will only use einkorn flour from now on, in all my baking. I bought whole wheat einkorn pasta for the days I don’t have time to make it by hand, and it’s really delicious.

This recipe is quite simple, it combines carrots, wild mushrooms and whole wheat einkorn penne. The carrot pesto provides a delicate sweet flavor that can be enjoyed in many different ways. This pesto could also be used as a dip, or spread…or anything you can think of.

You can keep it vegan without parmesan, either way it is delicious.

Ingredients for 2

  • 200 g einkorn penne
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • about 8 large oyster king mushrooms, sliced

For the pesto

  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut in chunks
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 3-4 basil leaves
  • 2 tbs walnuts
  • 1 tbs grated parmigiano reggiano
  • 2-3 + tbs extra virgin fruity olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

For the pesto

Mix all ingredients in a mixer and mix until smooth. Add some pasta water at the end if too thick.

For the pasta

Heat olive oil in a pan, add mushrooms, salt and pepper. Saute until water evaporates and cooked.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and let it cook for about 10 min until al dente.

In a mixing bowl, add pasta, mushrooms and carrot pesto. Stir well to combine all ingredients together and serve hot