Do you ever meet people who hate olives? We’re definitely NOT people who fit in that category.
We actually enjoy olives a lot, they are quite addictive when they’re presented to us on a piece of cheese or served as a bar appetizer.
Still, on rare occasions, we’ve come across a jar of green olives just sitting in our refrigerator for a long time. We don’t always know what to do with them.
For anyone who has been in the same position as us, here is an innovative way of using green olives in a delicious recipe.
Delicious and easy to make Green Olive Pasta
When you saute garlic cloves and green olives in butter, the results are simply amazing.
The butter warms and softens the olives, and when the garlic and anchovies are added, they impart their flavors into the fats, making for a delicious pasta sauce that rivals any from a restaurant.
Each serving gets a squeeze of fresh lime juice, a sprinkle of black peppercorns, and a good grind of Parmesan cheese.
It’s a type of meal that tastes good but uses ingredients you probably already had lying around in your kitchen. It was a big success for me.
Ingredients you will need for the Green Olive Pasta recipe
1 pound dried bucatini or other long pasta
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups Castelvetrano olives or another mild green olive, such as Cerignola, pitted and coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 medium lemon
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt
Shaved Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, for serving
How to make the Green Olive Pasta
1º – Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil.
When adding pasta, add it and cook for 1 min less than al dente; should be about 8 min, or just follow the package instructions.
Meanwhile, melt the butter and olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
Add the olives and garlic to the pan and cook until they soften for three to four minutes.
Remove from the heat before stirring in the lemon juice.
2º – Save one cup of the cooking liquid from the cooked spaghetti, then drain the spaghetti.
Put the pan back on medium heat and add the cooked spaghetti and the reserved cooking liquid from the saucepan.
Simmer the pasta, tossing and mixing the pasta, until it is cooked but not mushy, and the sauce has thickened and coated the pasta, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the parsley and a couple of generous pinches of black pepper and toss well to mix.
Serve them topped with shaved Parmesan or pecorino cheese if you’d like.