Pasta With Yogurt, Peas, And Chile

If you have not tried this pasta dish yet, then your taste buds are in for a flavor party. This pasta dish is easy to put together and it comes together in under 20 minutes. It is full of flavor and so filling. It is so delicious. It is a great “busy day” dinner or you can take this to any get-together.

This is a “taste of the Mediterranean” dish that is sure to please. It is full of delicious flavors that pair so well together with a slight little kick of heat from the chile flakes. You are going to love this stand-alone dish.

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 C. Whole milk/Full-fat Greek yogurt (plain)
2/3 C. Olive oil
4 Cloves of Garlic – peeled and smashed
1/2 Lb. ( 3 cups) Frozen/thawed peas
1 Lb. Small-shaped pasta ( any small/medium-shaped pasta will do)
1/2 C. Pine nuts
2 Tsp. Aleppo Pepper
1/3 C. Basil – torn or coarsely chopped
8 Oz. Feta Cheese – broken into chunks
Salt and white pepper – to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Add a good pinch of salt to the water and stir to melt. Add the pasta and stir to prevent the pasta from sticking to each other.
2. While the pasta is cooking we can make the sauce. In a food processor add the yogurt, 6 tbsp of the olive oil, garlic, and 1/3 of the peas. Process the mixture until the mixture is smooth and has a pale green color. About 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. To a dry skillet over low heat add the remaining olive oil, pine nuts, and the aleppo pepper. Stir until the mixture begins to bubble and the pine nuts turn a nice light golden color. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly while the pasta finishes cooking.
4. Once the pasta is al dente, drain and shake out any excess water from the pasta.
5. Add the pasta in batches to the yogurt mixture to prevent the mixture from splitting. Add a little pasta and then mix. Add a little more and mix again until all the pasta is combined with the yogurt mixture.
6. Add the feta cheese, peas, torn basil, salt, and pepper ( I prefer white pepper with this dish) to taste. Gently mix together until well combined. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
7. Add the pine nut oil to a small serving bowl.
8. TO SERVE: Spoon the pasta into a bowl and spoon over some of the pine nuts along with that delicious and slightly spicy oil. Serve immediately.

• You can make this dish your own and add more basil and less feta or vice-versa. It is so flavorful and completely adaptable to your tastes.
• If you can not find Aleppo pepper ( you can order it online) you can add red pepper flakes to your taste.
• You can serve this immediately, room temp, or chilled. It is delicious either way.
• Since this has yogurt in it I would keep this in an airtight container for about 5 days in the fridge.
• If you do not want to make the entire recipe please feel free to cut the recipe in half to fit smaller families or double the recipe for larger families.
• Serve this as is or with grilled chicken on the side. Anything fried will be too heavy for this dish. I think that serving grilled chicken is a light protein for this dish. Most of the time I serve as is because it is very filling on its own.