Gut-Healthy Labneh Orecchiette

Labneh (a sort of yogurt-cheese made from strained yogurt) is a great probiotic, and there’s plenty of resistant starch in this dish too, from how we cook, cool, and reheat the pasta. Add to this the lycopene from the tomatoes, the ergothioneine from the mushrooms, and the healthful properties of the garlic, black pepper, and red chili, and we have a very healthy dish!

You will need

• 10 oz labneh (if you can’t buy it locally, you can make your own by straining Greek yogurt through a muslin cloth, suspended over a bowl to catch the water that drips out, overnight—and yes, plant-based is also fine if you are vegan, and the gut benefits are similar because unlike vegan cheese, vegan yogurt is still fermented)
• 6 oz wholegrain orecchiette (or other pasta, but this shape works well for this sauce)
• ¼ bulb garlic, grated
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Large handful chopped parsley
• Large handful chopped dill
• 9 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
• 9 oz mushrooms (your choice what kind), sliced (unless you went for shiitake or similar, which don’t need it due to already being very thin)
• 2 tsp black pepper, coarse ground
• 1 tsp red chili flakes
• ¼ tsp MSG or ½ tsp low-sodium salt
• Extra virgin olive oil

Method

(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

1) Cook the pasta as you normally would. Drain, and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

2) Combine the labneh with the garlic, black pepper, dill, parsley, and lemon juice, in a large bowl. Set aside.

3) Heat a little olive oil in a skillet; add the chili flakes, followed by the mushrooms. Cook until soft and browned, then add the tomatoes and fry for a further 1 minute—we want the tomatoes to be blistered, but not broken down. Stir in the MSG/salt, and take off the heat.

4) Refresh the pasta by passing a kettle of boiling water through it in a colander, then add the hot pasta to the bowl of labneh sauce, stirring to coat thoroughly.

5) Serve, spooning the mushrooms and tomatoes over the labneh pasta.

Enjoy!

Want to learn more?

For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

• Making Friends With Your Gut (You Can Thank Us Later)
• Lycopene’s Benefits For The Gut, Heart, Brain, & More
• “The Longevity Vitamin” (That’s Not A Vitamin)

Take care!