Mediterranean Pasta

What’s great about Mediterranean food is that the dishes are very simple and focus on fresh ingredients.  I decided to take some inspiration from Heather’s French Press and make my own version of Mediterranean Pasta.  She made hers with chicken, I made mine using only fresh ingredients I picked up from the farmer’s market and the local Italian deli.  I didn’t use any meat.

This is a very tasty and light dish.  It’s perfect for Meatless Mondays, Vegans and Vegetarians.  You can use any type of olives for this dish.  I had Gaeta Olives on hand, so I decided to use those.

Gaeta olives come from Gaeta, Italy, a town on the Mediterranean coast of Italy, between Rome and Naples.  The olives usually come pitted, and are tart to salty, as compared to regular black olives.  These olives are great as appetizers, as a tapenade, or even in a pasta dish, like this one.  

I found these olives in my local Italian grocery store.  

Mediterranean Pasta (Vegan)

2 Tbsps of olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1/2 of a medium-sized onion, diced
4 roma tomatoes, diced (red/yellow)
1/2 jar of gaeta olives (found at Italian grocers)
1 jar of marinated artichoke hearts
1 stem of fresh basil (leaves only)**
salt and pepper, to taste

1 box of tagliatelle noodles (found at Italian grocers) *

1. Prepare the noodles by bringing a pot of water (with salt) to boil.  Add the noodles and cook according to the instructions on the box.
2. Meanwhile, add olive oil to a pan along with the garlic and onions.  Cook until onions are translucent, and garlic is somewhat brown.
3. After onions are translucent, add the tomatoes, olives and artichokes.  Add salt and pepper to your liking.  Cook until tomatoes have softened.  
4. As the sauce mixture is finishing, add the fresh basil leaves.  Cook for a few seconds longer and then turn off the heat.
5. Add the cooked pasta noodles to the mixture, toss and serve.  

* You can use fettuccine noodles if you don’t have tagliatelle noodles.  

** It is important that you add the basil leaves at the very end so that they don’t brown while cooking.