Hello everybody!

Let’s welcome Spring in our plates with this very colorful dish! This pasta recipe is an inspiration from a dish my dad used to make for us and that I always loved. He used to make his own pasta, but don’t imagine Italian pasta making here! We never had any pasta machine so I remember my dad flattening the dough himself, cut a square sheet of dough and slice long stripes. I really loved these rough looking but delicious pasta and he would pair them with different vegetables and black olives. A very simple dish but like often these are the best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So here is my own version of my dad’s dish! I made my own pasta as well but flavored them with basil because I love the rich green color it gives to the pasta and it also makes them very aromatic and flavorful. I wasn’t as careful as my dad to cut them though because I wanted to save some time and also I don’t mind an even rougher look. I cooked the pasta with roasted red peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, a bit of olive oil, dry Moroccan olives and herbs. This is really easy to make and of course you can skip the pasta making if you prefer, just don’t forget to add basil in the dish!

Let’s start cooking!

Ingredients:

•  1 bunch of basil leaves ( about 60 g)
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups/ 330 g flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/4 cups / 100 ml water
• 1 garlic clove
• 4 tomatoes
• 2 red peppers
• 1 zucchini
• 1/3 cup/ 85 g dried Moroccan olives
• Herbes de provence
• olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Make the pasta:

1-In a food processor, add the basil leaves and start mixing. When the leaves are in pieces, add in the eggs and salt and mix until it gets a green color. Add in the flour little by little and mix until homogeneous. At this stage you will have a crumbly/sandy texture and the basil should be perfectly combined with the flour and eggs.

2- Pour the mixture in a mixing bowl and add water little by little while kneading. The pasta dough should be smooth and non-sticky. If it’s too sticky add a little bit of flour.

3- Flour a flat surface and flatten the dough with a rolling pin until very thin, then you can cut the edges so you get a square or rectangle of dough and cut stripes. For a faster method, you can also fold the dough in 3 and cut the stripes that way, but the size of the stripes may be a bit unequal. Use a generous amount of flour so the pasta don’t stick to each other.

Cooking the dish:

1- Cut the red peppers in half and remove the seeds and white parts. Place them on a baking sheet with the inside facing the parchemin paper. Bake for about 30 to 40 min at 350 F. Once baked, remove the skin and cut into slices.

2- Cut a cross at the bottom of the tomatoes and place them in a pot of water. Wait until the water boils and let them cook for an extra 5 min. Strain the water, remove the skin and seeds, and reserve on the side.

3- In a frying pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil. Chop a garlic clove and add it to the pan. Slice the zucchini and let it cook in the pan until it gets softer.

4- In the mean time, boil water in a large pot, add a pinch of salt and a little bit of olive oil and cook the pasta. Once they float on top, strain the water.

5- Add in the pan the tomatoes, peppers and olives, and stir well. Add in the pasta and season with salt, pepper and herbes de provence. Mix well and serve!

A very simple and easy dish to make with all the Mediterranean flavors! I love this dish because it is so flavorful and colorful and this is exactly what I needed to forget that it’s still winter outside!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you will enjoy this recipe! Let me know in the comment what you think about this recipe and if you liked it.

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