Preparation

• 

• Prepare the split peas following the procedure described in cooking split peas [basic recipe] or, if you have them ready in the freezer, defrost a double portion.

• Clean and thoroughly wash the vegetables:
  • onion or shallot;
  • celery stalks and leaves;
  • chard or swiss chard stalks and leaves;
  • leek.

• Cut the onion or the shallot in half or quarters.
  Chop the celery stalks into pieces and separate the leaves.
  Chop the chard or swiss chard stalks into pieces and separate the leaves.
  Slice the leek into rings.

• In a saucepan, pour 1.7 cups of water and add:
  • onion;
  • celery;
  • chard or swiss chard;
  • leek;
  and a pinch of salt.

• Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, and cook for 10 minutes.

• With the flame off, add a homemade vegetable bouillon cube to further enhance the flavor [optional].

• Pour the split peas into the vegetable broth and incorporate with a silicone spatula.

• Let it cook on low heat until the pea cream reaches the desired consistency, continuing to stir with a silicone spatula.

• Your split pea and vegetable macco is ready.

  Enjoy your meal!

• We love it both with whole-wheat pasta:
  • pasta with split pea and vegetable macco;
  and with whole-wheat bread:
  • split pea and vegetable soup with bread.

• How long does mixed pasta need to be cooked?

  I made my pasta with split pea macco even more delicious by using mixed whole-wheat pasta [caserecce, Sardinian gnocchetti, and half-rigatoni with varying cooking times by a minute: check the different cooking times and choose the lowest or medium time].

  

• In case of brothy first courses, to avoid glycemic spikes, it is advisable to cook the pasta separately, rinse it, and add it to the brothy dressing prepared separately; this way, the starch released by the pasta in the cooking water is eliminated.

• Meanwhile, bring the split pea macco with vegetables back to a boil.

• Pour the pasta into the saucepan with the split pea macco with vegetables and mix.

• Serve.

  Add a drizzle of raw oil and grind the pepper.

• Your whole-wheat pasta with split pea and vegetable macco is ready.

  Enjoy your meal!

  

• Pairing with pasta, rice, or other grains allows for better absorption of the legume proteins.

  The grains in these dishes, in fact, compensate for the missing amino acids in the legumes, allowing for a complete amino acid pool.

  Choose preferably whole grains.

  For further information: how to combine legumes in your diet.