Linguine with Olives and Breadcrumbs

After my weekend of “whining” and dinning my Valentine (otherwise known as Little Man), I was looking for a nice, simple supper to fix last night. Just such a dish came to me, care of Giada de Laurentiis and her Spaghetti with Olives and Breadcrumbs. Spaghetti? Olives, you say? Two of my favorite things! And it doesn’t hurt that I still have a couple of tubs of wonderful mixed olives from The Hill in St Louis lingering around in my fridge. Other than the fresh parsley, which I was fresh out of, this was a perfect meal straight from the pantry for me.


I call that... DESTINY.

Spaghetti with Olives and Bread Crumbs
1 pound spaghetti (I used linguine)
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cup seasoned dried bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
3/4 cup pitted and roughly chopped black olives (recommended: kalamata)
3/4 cup pitted and roughly chopped large green olives (recommended: Bella Di Cerignola)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the bread crumbs and 1/4 teaspoon each of the sea salt and pepper. Stirring constantly, cook the breadcrumbs until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water. Stir the pasta into the bread crumb mixture. Remove the pan from the heat and add the black and green olives. Add the Parmesan cheese and 3 tablespoons of the parsley. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Gently toss to coat, adding reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Transfer to a large serving bowl and garnish with the remaining parsley.

I love the briny flavor the olives bring to this dish, and the fact that it wasn’t loaded down with a heavy tomato sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I adore a good marinara or Bolognese, but with the weather ever-so-slightly turning to spring, I was in the mood for something a little lighter. Even though I would be the only one at my house to eat this, I went ahead and made the full amount and I will be enjoying it for a couple of my lunches at work this week. Next time I think I may add a little lemon juice or zest, some capers and little grape tomatoes!

This is my submission for this week’s I Heart Cooking Clubs theme, “Using Your Noodle”, and to Ruth over at Presto Pasta Nights, being hosted by Pia of Cook Healthy this week.