Sure, you can wear all the bright green sweaters you like, but we think you’ll have better luck if you eat these green foods that come by their color naturally. We’ve got you covered for breakfast, dinner and dessert.
Basil Canestri Pasta from The White Bull
With chef Pat Pascarella's love of Italian cooking, it was pretty much a given he'd offer freshly made pasta when he opened The White Bull in Decatur. For St. Patrick's Day, he making canestri, a traditional Italian pasta shape that sort of looks like a little basket. Ridged on the outside, smooth on the inside, it has a pretty big opening that could catch all kinds of bits from a delicious sauce. The pasta is green and flavorful from the basil and arugula blended into the dough. And because it's freshly made and dried, once your pot of water is boiling, it takes only four minutes to cook. To continue the green theme, Pascarella suggests serving it with charred broccoli, garlic, red pepper flakes and sauteed scallions. Add those ingredients along with a little olive oil and a little of the pasta cooking water to the cooked pasta and garnish with lemon zest and pecorino.
$5 per 250-gram bag that will easily serve 4. Preorder at least two days in advance by emailing the chef at pat@whitebullatl.com. This pasta will be available for pickup at the restaurant until St. Patrick's Day. The White Bull, 123 E. Court Square, Decatur. 404-600-5649. whitebullatl.com.
Matcha Almond Milk from Treehouse Milk
Matcha is the most gorgeous green tea, full of antioxidants and known for its ability to be both calming and to contribute to alertness. The folks at Atlanta-based Treehouse Milk press all kinds of nut milks including pecan, cashew and macadamia and had the brilliant notion to combine matcha with their lightly sweetened almond milk. So you get the benefits of matcha with a milk pressed from organic almonds that's high in omega-3 fatty acids. Drink it right from the Mason jar, blend it into a morning smoothie, turn it into chia pudding - it will get your St. Patrick's morning off to a healthy green start.
$5 for 8-ounce mini, $8.75 for 16-ounce jar or $15.25 for 32-ounce bottle. Available for home delivery (order online at treehousemilk.com/) or at the Grant Park, Freedom and Peachtree Road Farmers Markets (check website to find out when they're at each market).
Pumpkin Seed Flour from Oliver Farm
The first time we saw this flour we were blown away. It's green! Which makes sense when you think about the green kernel inside the hull of a pumpkin seed. The Pitts, Georgia, farm presses the kernels to make pumpkin seed oil, then dries out what's left from the pressing and turns it into flour. They call it "pumpkin flour" but of course, it's from the seeds and it's gluten-free and delicious with a lightly salty flavor. Their website offers several cookie and cornbread recipes and we loved the Pumpkin Flour Cookies for their hint of pumpkin spice seasoning. A nice play on that seasonal favorite. Buy some pumpkin seed oil to drizzle over a green fruit salad (kiwi, green grapes, green apples) and serve it with these cookies. St. Patrick's Day dessert? Done.
$8 per 1-pound bag. Available at Star Provisions and every other week at Freedom Farmers Market or online at oliverfarm.com/.
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