(Mostly) Greek Pasta

This is a robust, strongly flavored pasta dish. Why only "mostly" Greek? Well, it involves Italian hard salami and some Italian seasoning. To make this all Greek, substitute cooked ground lamb for the salami. If you're vegetarian, or are in the mood for lighter fare, simply leave out the meat entirely or substitute veggies like tomato or zucchini. This dish comes together very quickly!


(Mostly) Greek Pasta
Time: 20 minutes
servings: 3-4

12oz spiral pasta
6 slices of hard salami, approx. 3-4 inches in diameter (deli counter style)
4oz crumbled feta cheese
1 cup of Kalamata olives
olive oil (bit less than 1/4 cup)
6 small garlic cloves
Italian or Tuscan seasoning

Fill 4 or 5 quart pot about 2/3 full of water for pasta. While waiting for water to boil, cook slices of salami in medium skillet. You may need to cook them in two batches to make sure that the slices are not overlapping. Cook salami until just beginning to crisp. Remove from pan to a plate or cutting board and wipe out skillet (unless you want the added flavor of salami fat!). Peel garlic cloves and thinly slice.

Once the water boils, add pasta and cook for about 10-12 minutes. We love using tri-color pasta. Any pasta shape will work, but spirals hold the cheese the best. While pasta is cooking, add oil and garlic to skillet and cook over medium heat until garlic is just turning golden. Add 2-3 good shakes of the Italian seasoning and cook about 30 seconds longer. Remove oil and seasonings from heat. While the pasta is cooking and the garlic is sauteing, you should have enough time to roughly chop the olives. In addition, stack the salami and slice into 1 inch pieces.

When tender but firm (try a piece!), drain pasta, return to pot and pour oil and seasoning over. Mix in salami, olives, and then finally, the feta cheese.