Mediterranean Pasta with Artichokes and Olives

Why You’ll Love This Recipe 

• Easy: Perfect for the novice cook, this recipe is as simple as cooking the pasta and mixing with the sauce. There is minimal chopping involved and it takes 30 minutes from start to finish. 
• Simple but crowd pleasing: You can make this dish as a quick weeknight dinner or for a small gathering, topped with some greek marinated chicken and served with a simple salad. 
• Leftovers: This pasta gives great leftovers that you can enjoy for days, therefore it’s good for meal prep, too!

Ingredients For Mediterranean Pasta

• Pasta: Spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine works well in this recipe. You can use regular pasta, whole wheat or gluten-free. Make sure to cook the pasta according to the packaging instructions. 
• Cherry tomatoes: To make the sauce, use cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes. Once they cook, they burst and release their juice. 
• Garlic: A few cloves of garlic add a lot of flavor to the sauce. I usually slice them thinly but you can also mince them if preferred. 
• Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil works best in this pasta recipe. 
• Crushed red pepper: This is optional, and it adds a bit of kick to the sauce.    
• Marinated artichoke hearts: You can get these at many supermarkets. Alternatively, you can use canned artichoke hearts. 
• Olives: I used pitted kalamata olives that I sliced into smaller pieces. You can also use green olives if preferred. 
• Capers: They add a lot of flavor, a tablespoon or two would be enough. 
• Parmesan: It’s best to get a block of parmesan and grate it on top right before serving. 

How To Make Pasta With Artichokes 

1. Make the sauce: Place the cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, crushed red pepper and salt in a large pan. Give it a good stir and place it over medium high heat. Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the tomatoes burst and soften. 
2. Prepare the pasta: While the cherry tomatoes are cooking, cook the pasta according to the packaging. Save 1 cup of the pasta water for later and drain the rest. Set the pasta aside. 
3. Add the vegetables: Once the tomatoes are soft, give it a good stir and add the olives, artichoke hearts and capers. Make sure all is well combined. 
4. Add the pasta: Turn the heat to medium, add the cooked pasta to the sauce and start to mix. Add ⅓ cup pasta water and mix so it gets creamy. If needed, add more pasta water. 
5. Serve: Transfer to serving bowls and top the pasta with freshly grated parmesan. 

Tips To Make Delicious Mediterranean Style Pasta

1. Quality ingredients: When a recipe is this simple, the flavor and final taste lies within the quality of the ingredients. Get the best cherry tomatoes available and use tasty olives! 
2. Save the pasta water: Pasta water contains starch from the pasta, making it a great addition to the sauce to make it creamy. Always serve a cup of the pasta water before draining. 
3. Get creative: This Mediterranean pasta is a great canvas for your creativity! Use herbs and vegetables that sound good to you to jazz it up! 

Variations

• Vegetables: Use different vegetables such as zucchini, peppers and onions. 
• Cheese: You can use parmesan or crumbled feta. 
• Meat: Add some cooked sausage to the sauce or top the pasta with sliced chicken or seared shrimp. 
• More flavor to the sauce: Add chopped basil or a couple of anchovies to the tomato sauce for more flavor.