Sometimes ignorance is bliss. I was in the store (Trader Joe’s, I think) and saw a lonely jar of muffuletta, the last one on the shelf. I knew I’d heard of it, but didn’t remember where or how. Nor did I remember what it was for or how people usually use it. But it looked yummy, so I bought it. I’ve loved black olives since I was a little kid. I even liked drinking the juice from the can. The thought of all that sodium now makes me shudder, but I didn’t think about such things as a child. I loved black olives so much that my Nana used to give me a can for my birthday! I didn’t care so much for green olives back then, but my sister preferred them to the black ones. I bet my mom was happy it worked out that way — one less thing for her kids to bicker about! These days, I love both. My favorite is whichever I’m eating at the time.

Poking around in my pantry one day, trying to think of something to make for dinner, I came across that jar of muffuletta. (Its proper pronunciation, by the way, is moo-foo-LET-ta.) I needed to stretch two chicken thighs into dinner for two, and muffuletta sounded like a great start. I added scarlet runner beans, both to boost the protein a bit and because I hadn’t had any in a while. Surprisingly, I still had some Fresh Tomato Sauce in the freezer from last summer and thought that would make a good base. Add a little pasta to carry the sauce, and I’m off to the races! My muffuletta ignorance led me to come up with a combination I might not have considered otherwise. The resulting dish is incredibly tasty and satisfying, especially considering how quick and easy it is to prepare. It’s also simple to convert it to vegetarian: Just omit the chicken.

Ingredients:

3 ounces (80 g) whole wheat farfalle

2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8 oz, or 227 g) — optional

1 small onion (about 6 oz, or 170 g), chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 cup Fresh Tomato Sauce (240 ml; may substitute canned)

½ cup cooked scarlet runner beans

1 cup broth from cooking the beans (If you didn’t cook the beans yourself, substitute water. Don’t use the liquid from the can.)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

¾ teaspoon chopped fresh oregano (may substitute ¼ teaspoon dried)

hot sauce to taste – I added ½ teaspoon

⅓ cup (3 oz, or 85 g) MarDona Muffuletta (Hot)

Preparation:

1.) Get all your ingredients ready before you start cooking, as the dish comes together quickly. Start the pasta cooking according to the package instructions. (My pasta calls for 15 minutes. If yours has a shorter cook time, you might want to wait a bit to start it so that it doesn’t sit around getting gummy while you finish up the chicken & sauce.)

2.) Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet, then add the chicken. Cook until all sides are browned, but not quite cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm.

3.) While the chicken is cooking, chop the onion and mince or press the garlic if you haven’t already done so. Once the chicken is done, add the onion to the pan. Cook until softened and slightly translucent. Add the garlic; cook for 30 seconds.

4.) Add the tomato sauce and bean broth or water, and bring to a simmer, scraping up all the yummy browned bits from the bottom. Stir in the basil, oregano, hot sauce, salt, and pepper.

5.) Add the beans and return the chicken to the pan. Cook until chicken is done and sauce is slightly thickened, about ten minutes.

6.) Drain the pasta and stir it into the chicken mixture. Transfer to a serving dish and top with muffuletta to serve.