Asparagus, Feta and Oregano Pasta (plus a tasting box and discount coupon from Gourmet Spotting!)

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Gourmet Spotting, a subscription service that sends out monthly curated tasting boxes. Each contains between 4 and 6 gourmet products sourced from eco-friendly, organic and fair trade companies. In addition, every time they ship out a box, they donate a meal to charity.

They requested that I review one of the boxes and they also offered to provide a discount coupon to my readers. Sounded like fun! When it arrived I unpacked my treasures and found a bottle of organic white truffle oil, a package of fresh orecchiette pasta, organic sun dried oregano from Italy, a bottle of Classic Gold hot sauce and two espresso dulce de leche brownies from Whimsy & Spice in Brooklyn, NY. The box also included descriptions and origins of all the goodies as well as recipe suggestions. But as soon as I smelled the wonderfully fragrant oregano, I had my own idea of what to cook.

I love the combination of oregano, olive oil and feta cheese that's typically found in Greek salads. So, why not combine those into a pasta dish?  The fresh orecchiette pasta cooked quickly and had a lovely texture. While the water was boiling, I mixed some of the fresh oregano with olive oil and crumbled feta and let the flavors meld. I had some beautiful asparagus in the fridge so I sliced it thinly and added it to the finished dish. Fragrant and absolutely delicious. It made me wish I had another package of that pasta to cook the next day.

Ingredients
1 lb. Orecchiette pasta, cooked and drained
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 Cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 Teaspoon thyme
4 Spears asparagus, washed and sliced thinly
Salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, combine the olive oil, feta cheese and thyme and allow to sit for a few minutes while you cook the pasta. Add the cooked and drained pasta to the bowl along with the asparagus. Toss to combine and season to taste. Makes approximately 4 servings.




Take a look at Gourmet Spotting's web site to see if their monthly boxes might tempt you.  And if you do feel like trying them out, be sure and use code HUNGRYCOUPLE10 to get $10 off.

Note that I received a complimentary gourmet box to review but was not compensated in any other way.  The recipe and opinions are my own.