Whenever I make a new pesto, I like to try it out in a basic pesto pasta dish and now that I had just made a roasted red pepper pesto with some Greek inspired flavours, it was time to try it out in a pasta. Although many pestos are balanced and well rounded, I find that roasted red pepper pestos can be a bit on the sweet side and I like to try to re-balance things a bit by adding some salty elements to the dish. With the Greek inspired flavour of fresh oregano already in the roasted red pepper pesto it seemed only natural to turn to some kalamata olives and even more feta cheese to add some saltiness to the dish. The net result was a really tasty roasted red pepper pesto pasta that was just packed with flavour! I particularly enjoyed the hint of balsamic vinegar from the pesto and all of the herbs added a really nice hit of freshness.
Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta with Feta and Kalamata Olives
ingredients
- 1 pound pasta (I used whole wheat penne) (gluten free for gluten free)
- 1/2 cup greek style roasted red pepper pesto
- 1/4 cup kalamata olives (pitted and coarsely chopped)
- 1 handful parsley (chopped)
- 1/2 cup feta (crumbled)
directions
- Cook the pasta as directed on the package.
- Drain the pasta reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water.
- Toss the pasta with the pesto, pasta water, olives and parsley.
- Serve garnished with crumbled feta.
That's a great alternative of the traditional tomato pasta sauce. I recently saw that on Chef at Home too. Thanks for sharing, Kevin. I will sure try your sauce out!
Oh my goodness this looks good! I knew I shouldn't have peeked at this site this time of night. Midnight snack? No, I'll be strong and save this for an actual meal. Can't undo all that work I did at the gym.
Gorgeous photo. And I bet the taste of this meal is just as good!
I love feta and put some quite often in my pasta dishes, but I haven't tried to reconstruct the complete, so to say, "Greek experience" yet 🙂 Will try next time though!
Absolutely loving the recipe. This will be my next pasta dish .. Oh btw , i am crazy fan of Pasta 🙂 I may give it a few twist of mine , but will definitely link your blog. Thanks !
A gorgeously colorful and tasty pasty dish!
Cheers,
Rosa
Beautiful roasted red pepper pesto. I have loads of great roasted peppers in the freezer, and this is a new recipe for me. Thanks!
Sometimes all I want is a nice fresh pasta dish, and this looks lovely.
I love Greek food, and feta+olives is always a winning combination for me.
This should be good! try with ricotta insted of feta!:)
Check out my LIGHT and DIET LIKE cook blog at
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today: Ingredients for chicken with lemon and olives!!
What a fabulous pasta!!!
Looks very tasty 🙂
Greetings from Serbia!
This is definitely one balanced meal, Kevin, especially in terms of flavor!
Will try making this tonight, thank you very much!
You do not know how amazing this sounds to me! It's like I could take a bite…close my eyes…and be transported to a warmer climate…and that would make me infinitely happy. Very gorgeous, thanks so much for sharing it with Presto Pasta Nights this week 🙂
This looks great! I love trying different kinds of pesto so I'm definitely going to try this one!
Come è bello il colore di questa tua pasta , ciao
gorgeous pasta dish, colorful and so tempting! So easy too having many of these ingredients on hand. Love all your recipes!
It's lovely,and the way you described this dish made me so hungry.I cant wait to try this soon.
I love this dish! It looks so colorful and flavorful. I'll have to make your roasted red pepper pesto and then wow my fiance. I'm always looking for an alternative to marinara sauce or white cream sauces. Thanks!
YUM! I think I'm going to make this tonight – clicking back through to get your roasted red pepper pesto and roasted red peppers recipes. I also might replaced the pasta with quinoa, we'll see how "healthy" I'm feeling!
this looks refreshing and delish, great recipe.
YUM! This looks awesome!! I love pesto of any kind, and the red pepper flavor is really unique! I bet it's a little like romesco sauce, minus the paprika presence.
I LOVE rustic pasta dishes like this! Olives, feta and that pesto with a twist – looks wonderful!
Also…a great quick family meal that would also be suitable for company!
This looks delicious! Some of my favorite ingredients in one tasty dish.
We must have kindred taste buds or something because you always make food that looks fabulous. I tried quinoa because of you and loved it! Thanks!
A really good combo of ingredients in pasta. The dish seems very inviting.
I love it! Just looking at it makes me smile and forget about the grey, dreary, freezing cold weather outside. Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Night.
I love pasta, I could do some damage to that plate.
Try saying "roasted red pepper pesto pasta" 3 times fast! 🙂
Thanks for the great recipe.
The directions call for butter, but it is not in the ingredient list. How much did you use?
Philip: I do not see the word butter either in the ingredients or in the directions. Were you perhaps referring to another recipe?
This looks delectable, Kevin! I've made a Greek-style bread salad with those ingredients, but have never put them together in pasta. Will have to try.
-Cris P
http://crispcooks.blogspot.com/
I made this for my family for dinner the other night. It was another hit. I added red chili peppers for a touch of heat. thanks for another awesome recipe for me to add to my collection. I have been quickly working my way through your archives and am always pleased with the results.