Feta is a crumbly tart salty Greek cheese that has become quite popular recently in Italy, and though most of it goes into salads it has many other uses as well. This pasta salad will be quite nice in the summer, either as a first course or as part of a picnic. Ingredients to serve 4:
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 12 ounces (320 g) bowties
- 1/4 pound (100 g) feta, crumbled
- 2 ounces (50 g) almonds, toasted and slivered
- The juice of half a lemon
- A small bunch of parsley, minced
- 1 heaping teaspoon paprika
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 pound (225 g) string beans
- 8 firm cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Toast the paprika for a couple of minutes over a low flame in a non-stick pan, until it begins to release its aromas. Turn it into a blender, together with the almonds, 3/4 of the feta, the juice of the half a lemon, the parsley, the garlic, and 1/4 cup (50 ml) olive oil. Blend until the mixture is uniformly creamy, and transfer it to a bowl large enough to hold the pasta.
Trim the tips of the beans and cut them into thirds on a slant; plunge them into lightly salted abundant boiling water and cook them for 5 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon, run them under cold water to keep them from cooking further, and draw a half-cup of water from the pot. Slice the tomatoes.
Use the same water you boiled the string beans in to cook the pasta, adding more salt to it if necessary (it probably will be). When the pasta reaches the al dente stage, drain it into a colander and run it under cold water to cool it.
Dilute the sauce with some of the water from the string beans, stir in the pasta and the remaining ingredients, and serve.
This will be a refreshing first course, and something off the grill, for example chicken, would be a nice sequel. The wine? A white, perhaps a Verdicchio.
Yield: 4 servings bowtie Pasta Salad with Almonds, String beans, Feta and Tomatoes.
Trim the tips of the beans and cut them into thirds on a slant; plunge them into lightly salted abundant boiling water and cook them for 5 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon, run them under cold water to keep them from cooking further, and draw a half-cup of water from the pot. Slice the tomatoes.
Use the same water you boiled the string beans in to cook the pasta, adding more salt to it if necessary (it probably will be). When the pasta reaches the al dente stage, drain it into a colander and run it under cold water to cool it.
Dilute the sauce with some of the water from the string beans, stir in the pasta and the remaining ingredients, and serve.
This will be a refreshing first course, and something off the grill, for example chicken, would be a nice sequel. The wine? A white, perhaps a Verdicchio.
Yield: 4 servings bowtie Pasta Salad with Almonds, String beans, Feta and Tomatoes.
