Thursday, February 24, 2011

Linguine with Garlic, Olives and Sun Dried Tomatoes


Mangia, Mangia is an Italian phrase meaning Eat! Eat! I can just imagine an Italian grandmother in the kitchen saying this to her family as she puts out on a long table large bowls of spaghetti and other Italian classics. Although I do not have one ounce of Italian heritage in my gene pool, I adore Italian cuisine.

Several weeks ago, we took clients to lunch at an Italian Restaurant in Livermore called Terra Mia which was unassuming from the outside, but lovely inside. It was actually warm enough to sit outside, so we dined al fresco in January. Several items on the menu made my mouth water, but when my client described her signature dish that she orders every time she dines here, I was sold.






































You often hear that phrase; the simplest things in life are the best. The “Spaghetti Aglio, Olio Peperoncino” was the dish I ordered.  It was simple ingredients and when combined together were absolutely heavenly. It was served in a large bowl with al dente spaghetti, which was sautéed with garlic, red hot chili peppers, black olives, extra virgin olive oil and sun dried tomatoes. Along side were parmesan cheese and spice small red peppers in seasoned olive oil to add extra heat.
























This was one of those dishes that satisfied you and left you wanting to return the next day for another bowl. Being a foodie, I needed to recreate and put my own little spin on the recipe. Mangia! Mangia!

























Linguine with Garlic, Olives and Sun Dried Tomatoes

1 Lb. Dried Linguine
½ to ¾ C. Olive oil
8 to 10 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 C. Kalamata olives, pitted and cut in half
½ C. Sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil and julienne sliced
1 t. Dried Chili Flakes (add more or less if desired)
Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper

Cook the linguine according to the package until al dente. Drain and set aside. In a large skillet, add ½ cup olive oil and cook on medium heat for a couple minutes. Add the garlic, olives, dried chili flakes and sun dried tomatoes. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on medium heat then add the pasta and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes until pasta is heated through. Add more olive oil if desired.

Season with salt and pepper. Serve either in a large bowl or individually and place a large bowl of parmesan cheese for your guests to use. Mangia!

Note: This recipe is a bit “free form” and you can add or delete the amounts to your desire.



15 comments:

  1. Love that pasta pic! :) You could frame it!

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  2. I love that saying, and pasta too! I could have that for breakfast. This is a perfect weeknight dish for our house. Hope you have a great weekend.
    -Gina-

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  3. That's so funny... a while back my friend had the website mangiamangia.com (I think she might have spelled it with a J though) and used it as a restaurant review website. I never knew what it meant until now - but now I definitely love that phrase. I'm going to start using it on a regular basis. This pasta looks great - I love sun dried tomatoes.

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  4. This is beautiful..enjoyed reading this post, and really those photos are just so amazing, making me bit hungry:)

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  5. fabulous dish, Love eating stuff like this all week.

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  6. Just the other day I was looking for a good pasta recipe with sun-dried tomatoes, but did not find. Yours sounds simple and delicious! I will definitely try it. Thanks.

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  7. I love the Mediterranean flavor in this dish. A while back, instead of pasta I use risotto rice.

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  8. Yum, yum yum! Simple, different pasta dishes like this are my favorite :)

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  9. Pasta is one of my favorites for dinner and I think you've done it right here, I could tuck into this delicious bowl of pasta right now, thanks for your recipe;-)

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  10. Lisa, what a perfect dish! And your photo of the pasta is my favorite. I recently discovered sun dried tomatoes and am absolutely addicted to them.
    Isn't it wonderful to sit outside? We frequently choose to go to lunch over dinner so we can do just that. Nicely done!!

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  11. What a gorgeous pasta dish! I LOVE sun dried tomatoes and I especially love them in pasta. YUM! :)

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  12. what a beautiful pasta dish! I love just about any type of pasta but keeping it simple and using a few ingredients is always the best way to enjoy it. You picked two of my favorite ingredients with sun-dried tomatoes and olives next time don't forget to call me for dinner.
    Cheers
    Dennis

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  13. Mmmm, looks fantastic. I too can just here the italian grandmother standing over me saying "mangia, mangia!".

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  14. I so love that you use a good dose of garlic...gorgeous dish with some of my favorite flavors ever :) Beautiful photos as well :)

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  15. A well composed dish- it reads like a semi-deconstructed puttanesca sauce. To go all the way, you'd just need to mince up two or three anchovy fillets and toss them in.

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