Savoury
In my town, there used to be a popular Italian eatery, frequented by almost every household that I know here and really, it was as comforting as possible. My girlfriends and I went at least once a month to eat every bit of carbs and over the years – it has seen us through boyfriend loves, career dilemmas, break up woes and then over the decades, children, nieces and nephews joined our table and we discussed nappies, schools and of course, domestic help! When it shut down over the pandemic, hearts were truly broken!
One of the dishes that we girls always reminisce is a warm pasta dish that we chose on days we felt guilty over excess cheesiness – a dry aglio e olio style dish with capers, olives, chilies, and lot’s of garlic. This is my copy-cat recipe which could come close to it!
The Recipe
Serves
Ingredients
- 1 cup boiled fusilli or penne
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp garlic, finely sliced
- 1 tomato, finely chopped
- ¼ cup cubed cheese - mozerella
- handful of fresh basil, chopped
- ¼ cup sundried tomatoes, finely diced
- 2 tbsp olives, finely diced
- 1 tbsp capers, finely diced
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp red chili flakes
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a wide pan and add the garlic slices
- Wait for the garlic to sizzle and start to turn red
- Then add the red chili flakes, tomatoes and cook for a few minutes
- Then add the sundried tomatoes, olives, capers, salt and sauté for another few minutes
- Add the pasta and some of the pasta water with basil and cheese and combine
- Serve warm with extra parmesan on top
