MEDITERRANEAN ORECCHIETTE

Pasta entree - vegetarian

1 lb. orecchiette (ear shaped pasta)
1 shallot, thinly sliced
3 ripe tomatoes, diced
4 tbsp black olives, pitted and roughly chopped
4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp basil, chopped
Salt and pepper


Bring a large pot of water to a boil, when ready add salt 2 tbsp oil and orecchiette (trying to let them pass through the oil), stir well and often until "al dente", about 9/10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, warm the remaining olive oil and add the shallot, sautee until translucent and then add tomatoes and olives, stir and cook until pasta is ready; if needed, add a few tbsp of the pasta cooking water to thin the sauce; season with salt and pepper.

Drain pasta and transfer it to the skillet, add basil, toss to coat evenly, sauteing for 1-2 minutes.

Serve immediately.

This recipe serves 4


- If you can't find sweet, flavorful tomatoes, use San Marzano peeled ones: they're the sweetest.
- I suggested the addition of oil in the water: it is the only case I use it. Orecchiette really tend to stick together so easily!
- You can use parsley instead of basil