Vegetarian Mediterranean Pasta Sauce

Recipe: A Vegetarian Mediterranean Pasta Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 Pound Spinach Pasta (pre-cooked)
• 1 Large Tomato (chopped)
• Feta Cheese (crumbled)

Mediterranean Pasta Sauce

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Medium Sweet Onion (grated on the large holes of a box grater)
• 4 Garlic Cloves* (minced)
• 1/2 Cup Kalamata Olives (pitted and roughly chopped)
• 2 Teaspoons Dried Oregano
• 1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Drained Capers
• 1/4 Cup Toasted Walnuts (chopped)
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes

Instructions

1. Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium high heat until oil shimmers.
2. Add the grated onions (juice and all) along with garlic to the hot oil.
3. Stir and cook until about half of the liquid has evaporated and the onions begin to turn translucent.
4. Add in the olives, oregano, vinegar and capers.
5. Stir until everything is combined and heated through (about 3 minutes).
6. Remove from heat.
7. Spoon pasta into bowls, top with sauce.
8. Sprinkle the top of the sauce with the chopped walnuts.
9. Add the tomatoes and feta to each bowl (put those around the edges of the bowl).
10. Top with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper and some red chili flakes (if you want a bit of heat).
11. Serve

Quick notes

* I used 4 cloves of garlic from a jar of garlic confit. This gave the dish a more subtle garlic flavor. So you could use this, if you have it, or just the fresh garlic minced. If you want a little less garlic (since 4 cloves could be quite potent, you could cut this back to 2 or 3 cloves.)

Variations

This sauce would taste great spread on slices of bread or over some baked chicken or shrimp. You could even use this to top steamed vegetables like green beans.

Preparation time: 20 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Diet type: Vegetarian

Number of servings (yield): 4

Culinary tradition: Greek