PASTA WITH OLIVE AND GRILLED PEPPER ‘PESTO’

This may seem as a repetition of last weeks pasta dish but it is not, this one is quite different apart from the olives because grilled peppers are so much sweeter with this slightly smoky flavour that make them so special than ordinary peppers. I must long very much for summer right now because I seem to cook a lot with them lately but the beauty of grilled peppers is that if you find a brand that makes them well, you can buy them in glass jars so you have summer straight on the table whenever you want, grilled peppers in olive oil can be fantastic and they are a great addition to a lot of dishes. I call this pesto with ‘’ because to me pesto is pesto, a Ligurian salsa made with fresh basil, pecorino/parmesan, pine nuts, garlic and extra-virgin olive oil, but I am taking the liberty to call this a pretend pesto, as long I know what the real one is I feel that I can allow myself this little liberty. And if last weeks pasta was quick to make, this one is even better in that aspect-little input for great output!

By the way, today March month’s Paper Chef starts and it is the 50ieth edition so do join the celebrations; check out here for more details.





PASTA WITH OLIVE AND GRILLED PEPPER ‘PESTO’
2 servings

pasta for two
25-40 black olives, the amount depends on how big they are
1 whole grilled pepper, red or yellow or the same amount in smaller pieces. Both freshly grilled and the kind you buy in a jar is OK
2-3 tblsp pine nuts
1 tblsp parsley, finely chopped
extra-virgin olive oil

- Start cooking the pasta.
- Drain olives and peppers of liquids.
-Take out the stones of the olives and then chop olives, peppers and pine nuts finely.
- Add parsley and olive oil and mix well.
- When the pasta is ready, mix pasta and ‘pesto’ in the pan while you quickly heat it up again.
- Serve and enjoy!