Meatless Mondays – Fregola with charred onions and roasted cherry tomatoes

For this edition of meatless Monday, I tried out a new kind of pasta called fregola (FRAY-go-lah)…it’s a lot like Israeli couscous in that it’s these dense, chewy little balls a bit smaller than peas. It looks like some obscure variety of grain, but it’s just good old durum semolina pasta cut into an unusual shape. The kind I bought actually also came pre-toasted, so that most pieces were a typical golden pasta color but some were varying shades of brown; it also had a nice, toasty smell when it was boiling, and a deeper, earthier taste than most pasta.

Basically, this was a warm or room temperature pasta salad…to go with the fregola, I slow-roasted some more of our homegrown cherry tomatoes with olive oil, thyme and rosemary until the herb leaves got crispy and the tomatoes were bursting and roasty-sweet. I also grilled some red onions, then braised them in some oil and balsamic vinegar, before chopping them up and adding them to the salad, which got drizzled with more balsamic dressing. It’s important to mix the ingredients together when the fregola is still warm; it takes on the flavorful cooking liquids/dressing better that way.  Garnish with some torn basil leaves and you’ve got a tangy, sweet-savory meatless entree. Happy Monday…

Fregola with Charred Red Onions and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Recipe from Food & Wine

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes (30 min. active)

Yields: 6 servings

Ingredients

For the tomatoes:

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 2 thyme sprigs
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper

For the onions:

• 2 medium red onions, sliced 1/2 inch thic
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

For the fregola:

• 3 cups fregola
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup torn basil leaves

Method

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the tomatoes with the olive oil. Add the rosemary and thyme sprigs and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are ready to burst. Strip the crispy leaves from the herb stems; discard the stems. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F

• Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Brush the onions with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over moderately high heat until nicely charred but still crisp in the center, about 3 minutes per side

• Transfer the onions to a baking dish. Add the vinegar and the 1/4 cup of olive oil and bake for 20 minutes, until tender. Let the onions cool in the liquid, then coarsely chop them. Reserve the liquid

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fregola and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fregola is al dente, about 15 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. While the fregola is still warm, add the onions and their cooking liquid, along with the tomatoes and crispy herbs

• Stir in the vinegar and olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with the basil and serve warm or at room temperature