Happy Monday!
This week I’ve got a yummy pasta dish recipe for you. In keeping with the concept of “Meatless Monday” this tasty dish is vegetarian friendly. I adapted this recipe from one found in the Jerusalem cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, my latest cookbook purchase. I love incorporating different wold inspirations into my cooking; I’ve constantly finding new ingredients and tips through ethnic cookbooks.
I halved the recipe from the book, changed up some of the vegetable ingredients and combined a few steps to cut down on the number of dishes used. The quantities below will make enough for three generous portions, or will serve two along with a side salad plus leftovers for the next day.
Conchiglie with Greens and Yogurt Sauce (adapted from the Jerusalem cookbook, page 111)
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
olive oil
1-2 Tbsp crushed garlic (depending on your preference)
8 ounces of fresh or thawed frozen peas
1/2 pound conchiglie pasta
1/3 cup pine nuts
Red pepper flakes
Paprika
1 large bunch of basil leaves
A few handfuls of fresh spinach
4 ounces of feta cheese (I recommend buying a block of fresh feta from the deli)
Salt and pepper
Boil water in a large pot.
Meanwhile, put the yogurt, 2 Tbsp olive oil, crushed garlic, and half of the peas into a food processor/blender. Blitz to a pale green sauce and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Before (and you can see the steam from the warm peas)
After!
When your water is boiling, add the pasta and cook according to directions.
As the pasta cooks, heat a bit of oil in a small frying pan over medium-heat. Add the pine nuts and season with chili flakes and pine nuts. Toast for a few minutes until pine nuts are golden brown (closely watch, as pine nuts can burn easily).
In the last few minutes of the pasta cooking, add remaining peas into pot to warm. Drain pasta and peas and add gradually to the yogurt sauce (adding it too quickly may cause the yogurt to split). Tear up the basil leaves and spinach and add, put in the pine nuts then crumble the feta cheese into the bowl. Toss gently and season with salt and pepper to taste.
