Pasta With Kalamata Olive Tapenade, Feta, and Chopped Tomato

FoodieFanatic's Note:

Tapenade paired with an aromatic paste of briny Greek black olives with sweet pieces of ripe tomato and small cubes of the eastern Mediterranean's pungent Greek sheep's milk cheese makes up this luscious dish. You'll can find Kalamata olives sold by weight in the deli cases of well-stocked supermarkets, as well as in jars. Some may be found already pitted. Substitute any other brine-cured Mediterranean olives you like. Serve with spaghetti, linguine, tagliatelle, or other medium-width strands or ribbons. One you won't want to miss!

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 lb pasta (spaghetti, linguine, tagliatelle)
• 1 lb kalamata olive, pitted (about 2 c.)
• 1 1/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
• 3 large garlic cloves
• 3/4 cup fresh Italian parsley
• 1/3 cup capers, drained
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 lb feta cheese, crumbled or 1 lb feta cheese, cut into 1/4-1/2-inch cubes
• 5 large roma tomatoes, halved, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/4-1/2-inch pieces

Directions:

1. Bring a lg. pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta to the water, and cook until al dente, following the suggested cooking time on the box.
2. While the pasta cooks, put the olives, olive oil, garlic, parsley, capers, lemon juice, and oregano in a food processor fitted with the metal blade.
3. Turning the machine on and off rapidly, pulse the ingredients a few times, then scrape down the work bowl, and process continuously until the mixture forms a coarse but uniform paste.
4. As soon as the pasta is done, drain it, and immediately toss with the tapenade, and 1/2 of the Feta and 1/2 of the tomatoes.
5. Top with the remaining Feta and tomatoes, and serve immediately.

Reviews

[Dr. Jenny]

This pasta recipe is chock full of ingredients that we love and was bursting with flavor. The only thing I would change about it is that there was way too much oil for the amount of pasta. You could easily halve the oil and go from there. We used fresh roma tomatoes from the garden, which went really nicely in this dish. Thanks for sharing.