- 1 red onion
- 1 green pepper
- 2 garlic cloves
- 80g kalamata olives
- A handful of oregano
- 330ml cherry tomato passata
- 180g fusilli pasta
- 120g feta
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- A pinch of sugar (optional)
- 1.
Peel and finely chop the red onion. Halve the green pepper, scoop out the seeds and pith, then roughly chop it. Set a deep frying pan on a medium heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil and the chopped veg. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Pop on a lid. Fry, stirring often, for 8 mins till the veg are glossy and starting to soften. If the veg start to catch and brown too quickly, turn the heat down and add a few tbsp of water.
- 2.
While the veg fry, peel and grate or crush the garlic. Roughly chop the olives. Pick the leaves off the oregano stalks and roughly chop them.
- 3.
Fill and boil your kettle, then fill a large pan with the hot water, topping it up if needed. Add a pinch of salt, cover and bring to the boil.
- 4.
Stir the garlic, olives and half the chopped oregano into the veg. Cook and stir for 1 min. Pour in the cherry tomato passata, pop a lid on the pan and bring the sauce to the boil. When boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and gently cook, lid on, for 5 mins till the sauce thickens a little. Stir every so often.
- 5.
The water in the pan should be boiling by now. Add the fusilli and simmer for 8-10 mins till the pasta is tender but still has some bite to it. When the pasta is ready, scoop a mugful of water out of the pan (mind your fingers, or use a ladle). Drain the pasta.
- 6.
Taste the pasta sauce and add a pinch more salt and pepper, or a pinch of sugar, if you think it needs it. Remember, the feta you’ll crumble over at the end is salty.
- 7.
Add the cooked fusilli to the sauce and toss to mix. If it seems a little dry, trickle in a little of the reserved pasta water till you get the consistency you want. Divide the pasta and sauce between two warm plates or bowls and crumble over the feta. Garnish with the remaining chopped oregano and serve.
- Tip
Love Your Leftovers: Any leftover pasta and sauce can be kept for up to 3 days in the fridge in an airtight tub. Make sure the pasta and sauce are mixed together and top with the feta, then seal and store. Reheat in the microwave, or on the hob with a splash of stock or water, till piping hot.
- Tip
Perfect Seasoning: How much salt and pepper you use in your cooking is entirely up to you. If you’re adding salt or pepper, it helps to add a little at every stage of cooking, rather than seasoning at the end. Using a little as you cook means you typically add less salt and pepper than you would if you added it all at the end. When you do add extra salt and pepper at the end, stir it in and let the sauce sit for at least 30 secs before tasting again – this gives the seasoning time to mingle with the other flavours. Tomato-based sauces often also benefit from a small pinch of sugar, which can help mellow the tomatoes’ acidity.