Pasta Pugliese
Recently I republished my recipe for Orecchiette with Rapini . We had just returned from a trip to the Puglia region in southern Italy and I was so inspired by the simple but utterly delicious meals we had there. Since we have been home I have made Pasta Pugliese (which we affectionately refer to as Pasta alla Grazia) repeatedly. It is so good, so fresh and comes together in under 15 minutes.
We were treated to a beautiful lunch at the home of Peter’s cousins Grazia & Luigi and this was the pasta course which I have named Pasta Pugliese. Grazia explained to us that much of the cuisine of Puglia is ‘cucina povera’ or ‘poor cooking’. Meals made from what was/is local and available.
I watched intently as she added the hot pasta to a bowl with garlic flavoured oil, fresh cherry tomatoes, local olives and sundried tomatoes. She then gave it a good toss, added some fresh arugula and tossed again. It’s a perfect summer lunch or dinner and it can also be served cold as a pasta salad.
Pasta Pugliese
Ingredients
- 450 Gr Pasta* (1 pound)
- ½ Cup Olive Oil
- 2-3 Cloves Garlic sliced
- ½ Tsp Chilli flakes
- 2 Pints Cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 Cup Olives* pitted
- ½ Cup Jarred sundried tomatoes (optional)
- 2 Cups Baby arugula
- Fresh basil (optional)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil, garlic and chilli flakes on medium low for 5 minutes or so making sure not to burn the garlic. Remove garlic from the pan and set oil aside.
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- Place cherry tomatoes, olives, basil, sundried tomatoes into a large bowl with the flavoured oil.
- When pasta is ready add it to the bowl of ingredients and toss well.
- Add arugula toss again. Serve with grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
Notes
One Comment
Anonymous
I was fortunate enough to get a similar recipe from a friend, Pasquale Provinzano, a wine salesman from Puglia. The wine he reccomended to accompany this dish is Primitivo, a rich, dark red wine from the region. (The grape called Primitivo is what we in North America call Zinfandel) Pasquale also said thin blanched green beans (haricots verts) were part of the recipe the way his family prepared it. Any way you make it, it’s fabulous.
David Stowell