Greetings from the Barilla Test Kitchen!

We recently returned from a culinary summit at the Culinary Vegetable Institute, where we gathered a group of chefs together to work on developing new ideas for getting more plant-forward on the menu. It was a great experience, and inspiring to see what a talented group of chefs could do when given the challenge to remake established, popular dishes in a more plant-forward way. The results were delicious, and often weren’t just plant-forward, but all plant – completely vegetarian or vegan.

I got into the act as well, doing a version of pasta and meatballs using a housemade chickpea kind of falafel as my meat stand-in. With cheese, panko, Italian herbs and egg to flavor and bind it, the pan-fried “meatballs” had great texture and taste, especially with a spicy San Marzano tomato sauce. With plants this good, who needs meat?

Buon appetito!

Yury Krasilovsky, Foodservice Executive Chef, Barilla America