LinkedIn and I are having relationship problems.

We've been together almost 3 years now...

And considering the way things are going, we may have to part ways.

To quote a famous blues man:

"The thrill is gone."

Still, even though LinkedIn's devolved into a marketplace for coaches that coach coaches on how to coach more coaches, I still occasionally meet people doing cool things there.

Like people who own real businesses.

I met one recently who makes a unique product:

Hemp seed pasta, made in Italy.

Skeptical at first, I accepted the sample he offered me.

"Why add hemp seed to pasta?" I wondered. "Pasta's fine as it is."

I was curious.

So I fired up the old ChatGPT, and what I learned surprised me. Evidently I've been living under a rock this whole time.

Hemp seeds are a legitimate food.

So legit, they've even been promoted to "superfood".

Not only are they a good source of fiber, they contain enough amino acids to form a complete protein.

This dried pasta from W&R Hemp Seed Foods uses traditional methods to add hemp seed flour to the semolina flour dough...

Creating a slow-dried pasta with a relaxed gluten that's easily absorbed by the digestion with less inflammation.

Clearly, it's a healthier pasta than what we're used to eating in the U.S.

But how does it taste? 

That's what I wanted to know. The answer?

After I put it to use in this week's SIMPL recipe, I'm pleased with the results.

The pasta is filling and substantial on its own, but as part of the dish, it absorbs the flavor of the other ingredients nicely.

For this dish, it's fall flavors.

Now that the temperature here in San Diego has dropped below 70, we're craving fall flavors as we dig out our cold weather clothes.

Since mushrooms come to mind when I think of fall, I sautéed 2 lbs of them with some garlic and shallots, deglazing with marsala wine.

Their rich flavor becomes more and more concentrated as their moisture evaporates.

Once they've turned a dark brown, I fold them into the cooked pasta along with some blanched English peas.

Since hemp seed pasta, mushrooms, and peas all have protein, I could just make that a complete meal, and be done with it.

But here at SIMPL, we're not casual consumers of protein.

We're enthusiasts.

So I finish this dish with slices of grass-fed beef top round, generously seasoned with black pepper, seared in a pan, and basted with butter and fresh rosemary.

I'd call it a very substantial, high-protein meal.

Were you unaware of hemp seed, like me?

Then pull yourself out from under your rock and cook this rosemary-butter steak with mushroom ragout and Italian hempseed pasta next week.

Get the full 5-portion recipe for this, and all my high-protein dishes when you become a SIMPL Insider.

When you upgrade, you'll also:

• Get the full-length step-by-step videos showing how I created each weekly dish

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Rosemary-butter steak with mushroom ragout and Italian hempseed pasta

Cooking time: 90 minutes

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Ingredients:

2 lbs grass-fed beef top round (about 1 1/2 inches thick)

1/2 lb W&R hempseed "Busiata" pasta

2 lbs cremini mushrooms, sliced (buy 4 packs)

8 oz raw English peas, shelled

4 Tbsp butter

½ cup marsala wine

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 large shallots, finely diced

2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 tsp red chile flakes

ground black pepper to taste

1 Tsp avocado oil

kosher salt to taste

Directions

For the steak:

Preheat a heavy saute pan on high heat, and add 1 Tbsp avocado oil.

Season the steak generously on both sides with salt and pepper. When the oil is smoking hot, carefully transfer it to the pan, and cook on medium-high heat for 4 minutes on each side.

After 8 minutes total, add the butter and half the chopped rosemary to the pan, and baste the steak for 1 minute.

Insert a meat thermometer into the center of the meat. When it comes to 120 degrees, remove the steak from the pan. Reserve the liquid butter in a bowl.

For the mushrooms:

Preheat a small stockpot, and add the remaining oil.

When the oil is smoking hot, add the shallot, garlic, and chile flakes. When the garlic begins to brown, add the mushrooms. Add salt to taste, the reserved liquid butter, and the rest of the rosemary.

Sweat the mushrooms on high heat for 10 minutes, while stirring. Add the marsala, and continue cooking for 3 minutes.

Remove from heat, pour the cooked mushrooms into a large mixing bowl, and set aside.

For the peas:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add a large handful of salt. Prepare a mixing bowl with ice water.

Pour the peas into the boiling water, and boil them for 1-2 minutes. Strain them out using a hand strainer, and transfer to the ice water to chill the peas.

When they're chilled, remove them from the ice water, and pour them into a bowl lined with a towel to dry.

For the pasta:

When the water returns to a boil, add the pasta, and stir with a wooden spoon.

Taste it after 10 minutes, and when it's cooked al dente, strain the pasta out into a colander in the sink.

Run some cold water over the pasta to cool it, then transfer it to the mixing bowl with the cooked mushrooms, and toss the mixture together.

To finish:

Slice the steak 1/4 inch thick against the grain.

Divide the mushroom pasta between 5 meal prep boxes. Sprinkle the cooked peas over it, then finish by dividing the sliced steak on top of each.

Seal the containers, then store them in the refrigerator until you're ready to reheat in the microwave.

Note: To avoid overcooking the steak, remove the steak from the containers and reheat the remainder of the meal in the microwave without the steak.

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