Mediterranean Pasta

I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve ever made pasta dishes that weren’t just plain old spaghetti and tomato-based meat sauce, so the chance to try something new was both exhilarating and terrifying. I actually would have breezed right by it had I not decided to start letting my husband pick the recipes I test each month–and the man had feta on the brain and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Boy, was this one a winner in every way imaginable. First, it took WAY less time than I thought, despite the length of the ingredient list. In 7 minutes I had the pasta boiling, I pre-measured everything and had it all laid out on the counter ready to go–which is to say, ready to toss into the pot before giving it all a quick mix and adding the drained pasta back in. There was nothing remotely complicated about this recipe for Mediterranean pasta and it came out like something I’d order in a little Italian cafe.

One change we made on our second helpings that we thought elevated it just a little–we both put a little more feta cheese on top (a mere ounce per serving seemed way too little for cheeseheads like us).

Fresh tomatoes, spicy arugula, briny olives and creamy cheese meld into the perfect sauce for a light summery pasta dinner that comes together in a breeze, leaving more time for those outdoor activities. The recipe for Mediterranean pasta screams for the freshest ingredients possible, but if, like me, you cut into your tomatoes to find a hard, mealy imposter of a garden fresh perfectly ripened tomato, just toss them in with the wine and oil and give them a quick sauté to break them down a bit.

I used Bonta D’Italiano gluten free pasta and the ½ cup reserved pasta cooking was the exact amount to bring the sauce together. Next time I might add some cooked shrimp or chicken just to satisfy the hungry men in the family.

Pasta is always a winner in my house and this recipe for Mediterranean pasta was no exception. Having all the ingredients prepped/measured made pulling this together really quick and easy – great for when you need to get dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. My daughter’s immediate reaction after her first bite was ‘Yum, this is so fresh!’

You have to trust the ingredients and method on this one. When I was making the sauce, I thought there would be no way that it would be enough to coat the pasta and vegetables but the addition of the full 1/2 cup of pasta water was exactly what it needed. While adding the tomatoes, arugula, peas and olives, I actually said out loud ‘this is just weird’. The idea of adding wedged tomatoes seemed clunky and would be awkward to eat. But because I cut mine fairly thin, they broke down just enough to make twirling with the pasta easy. I let it cook with the pasta 4-5 minutes to make sure the arugula was wilted to my liking. I can definitely see how fresh basil would be a nice addition.

The brininess of the olives was exactly what is needed to play against the tomatoes and arugula. Makes 4 generous servings

When I presented my salad-hating 7-year-old with a dish of Mediterranean pasta, he immediately complained, “Mom, you said pasta. This is a salad!”. Three minutes later, he was licking the bowl clean. It was that good. Do use the best, ripest tomatoes you can find—they add so much to the dish!

This Mediterranean pasta is a great vegetarian dish for summer dining. We used a whole grain linguini but I’m sure a gluten-free pasta would work just as well. The vegetables and herbs melded perfectly and the crumbled feta very nicely completed the Greek flavors of the dish. We used fresh basil rather than dried oregano and it clearly was the better choice, although a small amount of fresh oregano would also seem to work with this dish.