Have you heard of ‘fregola’? I had never heard of it before it arrived all packaged up in one of my latest Marley Spoon boxes. Fregola is a type of pasta from Sardinia. It is similar to North African Berkoukes and Arab couscous. Fregula comes in varying sizes, but typically consists of semolina dough that has been rolled into balls 2–3 mm in diameter and toasted in an oven. And frankly it is delicious!It was such a quick and easy meal to whip up that I actually recreated it again last week using Chef’s Choice ‘Golden Jewel Blend’ instead of fregola – as I had it in the cupboard {and I am actually trying to reduce the amount of products in my cupboard now that the big move to Sydney is drawing ever closer!}.

Chef’s choice Golden Jewel Blen is a colourful bouquet of Israeli couscous, tri-coloured orzo pasta, split baby garbanzo beans and delicate quinoa. It is an extremely versatile blend that marries well with a variety of dishes.

 

When I placed this meal down on the table it was an instant hit with both of my boys. And I chatted with Simone from Play with Food about how her girls also enjoyed squid {squid and chorizo in fact – what a delicious combination}. The husband was a little skeptic, but completely changed his mind after the first mouthful.

I’ve really been trying to reduce the amount of meat we eat as a family eat week and it has been having a real positive impact on the bottom line. I’d rather spend a little more money on a little less, but extremely high quality meat from the markets and really enjoy it.

SMOKY TOMATO CALAMARI WITH FREGOLA
1 garlic clove
1 lemon
2 tomatoes
2 zucchinis
10 grams of basil
5 grams of thyme
300 grams of cleaned squid tubes
300 grams of fregola
2 tbsp dried chili flakes
1 tbsp of smoked paprika
olive oil
salt and pepper

Finely chop the garlic. Finely zest the lemon and squeeze the juice into seperate bowls. Coarsley grate the tomatoes over a bowl to catch the juice – dicard the skins. Halve the zucchini lengthways, then simply slice. Tear the basil leaves and finely chop the stalks. Pick the thyme leaves and discard the woody stems.

Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cut the squid into bite size pieces.

Cook the fregola in the boiling water for 7 minutes or until al dente. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan. Cook the garlic, lemon zest, thyme and chili flakes for 2 minutes or until fragrant and the garlic is lightly golden.

Add the squid and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato, zucchini, lemon juice, smoked paprika and basil stalks and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the squid is tender and the sauce has slightly thickened.

Stir the fregola and most of the basil through the tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle over the remaining basil.

Now I just want to confirm that this is not a sponsored post – I am just loving the service at the moment, as I am so under the pump with the pregnancy and the big move. So I was stoked when Marley Spoon sent me a little card in my last delivery to ‘Spread the Love’.

Simply use this code – R6ZLH22 – to take $35 off your first order! And let me know what you think of the service.