Wholesome Cook
Autumn

{Day 19} Strawberry, pomegranate and mint spaghetti

To me, nothing heralds the arrival of Summer better than fresh, juicy berries coming into season.

Our suppers have always been influenced by seasonal variety. Long Summer days were spent in the woods on the way from the beach, picking wild blue and alpine berries. My Granddad’s garden also provided some of the most flavourful wild raspberries protected from the birds and me by the plant’s thorny branches. I didn’t mind the scratches, and I would happily spend hours munching away on the fruits in the warm afternoon sun.

And while the French used what nature provided for their mixed berry soup, we took comfort in our blueberry and cream dumplings and strawberry spaghetti. With that amount of pasta, you could almost be excused for thinking we were Italians…  But what a pasta it was! Light, and fragrant and delicious. Never a chore to eat.

For a more modern, and perhaps grown up version, I have added some pomegranate seeds and fresh spearmint. They also add a bit more texture and a burst of colour to the dish. To be honest, I would happily have this any time of the day: breakfast, lunch, dinner or even dessert when a scoop of creamy vanilla, or better yet, chocolate ice cream could be added to make it that much more special!

Yum!

Giveaways – now closed

To win an Olympus VG-110 camera: comment on any of the 30 Royal Selangor Get Your Jelly On challenge posts on my blog – multiple entries allowed. Camera giveaway is open worldwide! Entries close October 30, midnight AEST. Winner(s) will be announced on the blog on October 31.

To win the Cuisinart ice cream maker: enter here.

Serves 1

Strawberry, pomegranate and mint spaghetti

If you don’t like mint, you could use basil in this recipe. Quark, cottage cheese or mild feta are added for extra sustenance and to help balance the sweetness of the flavours if you wish.

Pasta:

  • 40g dry angel hair spaghetti // or fusili

For the sauce:

  • 1/4 cup thickened cream
  • 3 strawberries, hulled
  • 1/4 pomegranate, seeds only
  • 4 mint leaves
  • 2 tbsp quark // or cottage cheese // or crumbly feta

Prepare the angel hair spaghetti according to packet instructions. In the meantime, prepare the strawberry and pomegranate sauce.

To make the sauce: chop strawberries into small dice. Add cream and mix well, squashing with the back of a fork to release some of the juices. Tear mint leaves into the sauce, add pomegranate seeds and cheese.

Add sauce to the drained pasta and mix well. Spoon spaghetti into the mould and turn out onto a plate.

To serve: sprinkle around with some pomegranate seeds and garnish with a mint leaf or two.

30 comments

Three-Cookies October 19, 2011 at 9:29 am

Sorry for asking a stupid question: is this a dessert? I’ve heard about pasta being used in dessert but have never tried it, not yet anyway.

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Wholesome Cook October 19, 2011 at 9:33 am

It can be a dessert if you like. We used to have it for supper or instead of dinner actually. But it would make a yummy breakfast or lunch too!

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Nic October 19, 2011 at 9:30 am

Wow! I would have never ever expected spaghetti to be a dessert! Great work!

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Sharni October 19, 2011 at 9:31 am

Dessert for breakfast? Yes please! Adding feta to this soudns great.

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Timothy R October 19, 2011 at 9:32 am

Sounds so fresh and tasty. Amazing combination and I like how in a cone shape it looks so much more posh.

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Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide October 19, 2011 at 9:35 am

Looks awesome. And very conical. I’m telling you, you’ll never eat flat again.

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Wholesome Cook October 19, 2011 at 9:36 am

I know! Everytime I think of making something for lunch or dinner I think “can I make it into a cone”? Might be an idea for a Royal Selangor cone-shaped food blog in its own right!

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sara October 19, 2011 at 10:00 am

What an interesting combination of flavors! Sounds lovely! :)

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Anne S October 19, 2011 at 1:25 pm

This looks yummy! Perfect for a warm day like today. Great use of the mould too, to sculpt the tower.

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Jennifer (Delicieux) October 19, 2011 at 3:29 pm

Wow, this looks fantastic!!! I love your unusual combination, it makes for a very pretty dish. I love that jelly mould!!!!

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muppy October 19, 2011 at 4:20 pm

I just can’t imagine how this tastes!!! It really is quite intriguing.

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Mez October 19, 2011 at 4:35 pm

I would never, ever have thought of doing this! It looks so light and summery. The only “dessert” spaghetti I’ve ever had was chocolate spaghetti when I was little… I found it fascinating ahahhhahaaa

xox

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Vivian - vxdollface October 19, 2011 at 5:45 pm

this looks so healthy! never combined fruits with pasta before :O

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Tammy October 19, 2011 at 5:58 pm

You are one of the most creative people in this competition, seriously! Your skills and culinary imagination amazes me. Great dish.

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Ninazsyafinaz October 19, 2011 at 5:58 pm

ok this is awesome..spaghetti as a dessert?? GREAT!!

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Sarah October 19, 2011 at 5:59 pm

I’m in awe of your creativity and delicious dishes in this challenge. Love this mould as much as you do.

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jasmine1485 October 19, 2011 at 10:07 pm

Such a pretty plate, and an unusual combination! :)

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Mel October 19, 2011 at 10:59 pm

Great recipe! Thanks for sharing – and presentation is very pretty too. The mould is so versatile, you have really let it shine in your posts!

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Sissi October 19, 2011 at 11:01 pm

The strawberry spaghetti yo talk about vaguely reminds me of the dish I sometimes tasted at friends’ houses. We have never had since we were all (apart from my mum) horrible carnivores ;-) Pomegranate and mint make it very elegant and complex. Another extraordinary idea!

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Amber October 20, 2011 at 2:15 am

Wow, the pairing with the pomegranate and strawberry makes this really festive, pretty, and unique looking!

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TC October 20, 2011 at 11:54 pm

I’ve never tried that pairing of flavors before. It sounds good.

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Jessy (squeezetheday) October 21, 2011 at 6:21 am

I’ve never heard of “dessert” spaghetti!

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Iva | in my kitchen | in my studio October 21, 2011 at 12:09 pm

oh wow. that looks amazing! genious idea. If i served this to my guests, they would be so impressed. Love, Iva

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sara (Belly Rumbles) October 21, 2011 at 8:29 pm

Oh my gosh, this takes me back to when I stayed with my grandparents and we use to make this style of pasta and dumplings. My grandfather would often eat noodles doused in poppyseeds and icining sugar.

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Anna W October 21, 2011 at 10:14 pm

This is so beautifully styled – l love the colours of the dish :)

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Nami | Just One Cookbook October 22, 2011 at 4:42 am

Oh my… this pasta is a total piece of art. I think any Italian restaurant that serves pasta will be like “WOW!” Yeah this is totally a new generation of how you serve pasta! ;-) I love it. This is my first time seeing strawberry in pasta!

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Ming October 26, 2011 at 5:45 am

This is new to me but it looks yummy.

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kaokimura October 27, 2011 at 6:06 pm

I never tried fruits with pasta (very unusual in our country) but this looks yummy!

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Lenna (veganlenna) October 27, 2011 at 6:52 pm

Looks amazing, my family will really enjoy it, I am sure :)

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Ally October 30, 2011 at 3:21 am

This is so intriguing. We have half a pomegranate in the fridge, actually…hmm…

Reply

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