Green Olive Pasta

I'm undecided about this one. I don't recall anyone critiquing an Italian meal and complaining that the pasta was not crunchy enough. It was an unusual feature, but the flavour was certainly pleasant.

This is done in two parts. To prepare the breadcrumbs, you will need...

1 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

Zest of 1 small lemon

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat.

Once the oil is hot, add the panko breadcrumbs and cook, stirring often, until golden and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove crumbs from the heat. Stir in the lemon zest, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and salt, and mix to combine. Set the breadcrumbs and the sauté pan aside.

As for the main event...

Pasta. No kidding. I used penne, about half a package. I don't believe that the kind of pasta actually matters.

Two half cups of pitted green olives, divided as each will be used separately. 

1 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley, plus more for garnish

A quarter teaspoon of red pepper flakes

Half a teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter

3 cloves minced garlic

Half a cup of parmesan cheese plus more for garnish

A quarter cup of fresh lemon juice

Cook pasta until al dented according to directions. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain and set aside.

Place one of the half cups of olives in a food processor, along with the parsley, red pepper flakes, and pepper, and pulse until a thick, clumpy paste forms.

Roughly chop the reserved cup of olives.

In the same pan you prepare the breadcrumbs in, heat the butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the fresh minced garlic and sauté for a minute of two. 

Add the olive mixture and chopped olives, parmesan, and a quarter cup of the reserved pasta water to the pan, stirring constantly.

Continue to cook, stirring often, until the parmesan melts throughout. If the sauce seems too thick, feel free to add water ¼ cup at a time until you reach the desired consistency. 

Off the heat, stir in the pasta and lemon juice, mixing until it’s fully coated in the sauce.

Garnish with the lemony breadcrumbs, parmesan and parsley, and serve!

I may end up trying it again without the breadcrumbs, because the pasta in the lemony olive/parmesan mix seemed like a winner.