Cooking Up A Greener Future
At the recent Global Plant Forward conference at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, we were introduced to the “Future 50 Foods,” a set of food ingredients that are ripe for introduction to American menus. They make the list – curated by the World Wildlife Fund and Unilever – based on sustainability, availability, and nutritional quality. Watching a pair of talented chefs create dishes featuring the future 50, it was easy to see how diversifying the menu could lead to delicious results. Especially when pasta is the foundation of the dish! Some are easy and obvious, e.g. kale, spinach and walnuts – while others might take a bit more creativity; e.g. seaweed, nopales, or black salsify.
Here are a few that caught our eye, with some recipe links for inspiration:
Fava beans, also called broad beans, are one of our favorites in the pasta kitchen. They make the list because growing them is great for soil health, and they’re good for fiber and protein, but they make ours because we love the buttery, grassy flavor and creamy texture.
https://barillaforprofessionals.com/en-us/recipes/whole-grain-medium-shells-with-fava-beans-and-a-cool-heirloom-tomato-salad/
Lentils make the list because they use little water and are so versatile in the kitchen. They make our list for many reasons, but one is because we make a pasta with nothing but red lentils!
https://barillaforprofessionals.com/en-us/recipes/red-lentil-penne-with-cauliflower-broccoli-and-italian-umami-butter/
Beet greens are the most nutritious part of the plant, and yet are so often simply thrown away. They happen to be delicious in pasta dishes of all kinds, including this one.
https://barillaforprofessionals.com/en-us/recipes/barilla-oven-ready-lasagna-with-greens-and-bechamel-sauce/
What would you create on a Future 50 menu?