Khorasan wheat pasta with asparagus and goji berries

If, after reading the title of this article, you asked yourself, "What the heck is this khorasan?" this article explains it well. If, on the other hand, you exclaimed, "Oh, good, I'll learn how to cook it!" you're in the right place. Today we'll look at a wonderful recipe based on Saragolle khorasan wheat pasta .

Khorasan wheat is very rich in vitamin E and antioxidants , especially selenium. It contains gluten, so it's not suitable for celiac disease sufferers, but it's an excellent alternative to traditional wheat and perfect for athletes' diets.

Like all whole grains, it's also easier to digest than refined grains and, let me tell you... it's also decidedly tastier ! Its delicate flavor combined with a satisfying and tasty texture makes it perfect for pairing with vegetables, and it's excellent both hot and cold in healthy pasta salads.

The "law of quality" also applies to Khorasan: you need to choose a product grown, processed, and packaged to best preserve the nutritional and health benefits of the original grain. The wheat used in this pasta, for example, was grown and stone-ground in Emilia Romagna and then processed in Puglia using traditional low-temperature static drying.

The result? It's visible and savoury, bite after bite. I paired this delight with a simple cream of asparagus and tasty goji berries, which give the dish, in addition to a beautiful pop of colour, a perfect note of fresh, exotic sweetness.

• 160 g Saragolle Khorasan wheat torchietti
• 250 g asparagus
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons of unsweetened soy milk
• 30 g of goji berries
• salt and black pepper to taste

• Separate the asparagus tips from the stems, boil them for 5 minutes in salted water, then drain them, keeping the cooking water aside, and plunge them into a bowl of ice water.
• Place the goji berries in a bowl of boiling water, drain them after 10 minutes and dry them with kitchen paper.
  
• Using a vegetable peeler, remove the fibrous parts of the stems, then chop them into chunks. Heat a tablespoon of oil, two tablespoons of water, and an unpeeled garlic clove in a pan for 2 minutes. Add the stems and a ladle of the cooking water from the tips and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
  
• Remove the garlic, transfer the entire contents of the pot to an immersion blender, and blend, adding the remaining tablespoon of oil and enough plant-based milk to obtain a smooth, creamy consistency. Season with salt.
  
• Cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain, and toss with the asparagus cream. Add the goji berries and serve, garnishing the plates with the frozen asparagus tips and a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper.
  

• You can further enrich the dish by adding flaked almonds freshly toasted in the pan or a spoonful of poppy seeds, but I assure you that even the “basic” version is truly tasty and satisfying.