Camille and I are on the same page this week when it comes to dinner ideas. It’s the garden calling to us. This is the perfect summer meal. You spend a few minutes chopping while water boils and in twenty minutes you have dinner on the table. This is on our family rotation. I love making it in the summer when grape tomatoes are in season, I also like it in the winter when I am looking for a pleasant reminder of summer.
My kids eat this and they like the olives. If you never shopped for Kalamata olives before, you can find them close by the regular olives and Costco sells a huge bottle for a great price. I like buying the olives with the pits removed because deep down I like to be a lazy cook.
This recipe is from the magazine, Everyday Food. The one thing I changed was doubling the tomato to noodles ratio. We cook this often in my house and I cook gluten-free noodles for the husband and he really enjoys this dish, even though it doesn’t have any meat.
salt and pepper
1 pound penne or other short pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves
24 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes
2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
If you want this dinner fast, you are going to have to multi-task a bit. Start the water boiling. While the water boils, chop the cherry tomatoes into halves or quarters. I think the smaller you can get them, the more likely kids are to eat them. Crush the garlic and slice it thin. Take the Kalamata olives. I like cutting the olive in half. I then take the half of the olive and cut it into equal thirds. I then take the stack of thirds and cut those in half or into thirds. I think this is faster and easier then just trying to chop the olives. They are pretty squishy, so you have to think slice, not dice.
When the water is boiling, add the pasta and set your timer for the time on the box directions.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and slowly let it get golden brown, this takes a few minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and oregano and stir for thirty seconds. Add the tomatoes, olives, a dash of salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to low. Cook until the tomato juices run clear, about three minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and toss in the fresh parsley and grated Parmesan. When I serve, I have to take a serving size out from the tomato sauce and toss in with gluten-free corn noodles and then take the rest and toss in with the wheat pasta. Finish with a touch of parsley and a sprinkling of Parmesan.
I made this served it with Barilla’s red veggie pasta. I also had some bacon crumbles and they were great on top – but then again bacon goes with anything. It was loved by all in the house!