FFwD: Beggar's Linguine

This week's French Fridays with Dorie, Beggar's Linguine, was...interesting.  I loved the story behind it - it's named after the four mendicant (begging) monastic orders, with each order being represented by a different fruit or nut.  Dried figs, raisins, pistachios, and almonds are sauteed in browned butter and then tossed with linguine, Parmesan cheese, and a little orange zest.  In principle, I had high hopes for this dish - I do really love sweet and savory dishes, and I often like dishes with unusual flavor combinations.  In this case, however, the combination just didn't work for me, mostly because the pasta was just too rich.  I'm all for butter, but along with nuts and cheese it was a little overwhelming.  I think this dish could be saved (for me, at least) by adding some sort of acid - maybe balsamic vinegar or lemon juice - and omitting the orange zest.  Some veggies would also likely help cut through the richness of the dish.  Overall, though, I'm definitely glad I tried this dish - it was inexpensive (yay bulk bins at the grocery!) and made for a quick lunch, and it was interesting to try out new flavors.

Here's the original recipe on Dorie's website.