In the 80's and 90's about the only vegetarian entree offered in restaurants was a pasta and vegetable dish.  I developed "pasta burnout" and seldom prepare pasta dishes since.  Thanks to Ruth's Presto Pasta Nights pasta is making a comeback in my life.  This pleases Wilson as he always appreciates a good pasta dish and with Ruth's weekly roundups there is never a shortage of ideas.  I know my Mediterranean pasta with asparagus, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes and kalamata olives will be in good company!

I'm a nibbler and grazer and like to eat in courses so after our pasta course I served some hummus, feta and homemade flatbread to enjoy with the remainder of our wine.  The flatbread is a favorite recipe of mine from The Bread Bakers Apprentice called Pizza Napoletana.  I don't think it appropriate for me to post the recipe because I do follow it verbatim except to use part whole wheat flour.  If you enjoy making homemade breads I highly suggest your purchase this book, it contains many wonderful recipes and lots of great bread baking tips. 

Tonight I simple brushed the dough with some olive oil, sprinkled on some oregano and baked the flatbread in a 475 degree oven on a pizza stone for about 8 minutes.  Another fun option is to grill the flatbread either on a grill pan or outdoor grill. 

Mediterranean Pasta

2 heaping cups pasta

½ cup onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch asparagus, cut into bite sized pieces

½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienne sliced

1 cup frozen artichoke hearts , thawed (or canned)

20 kalamata olives, cut in half

½ tsp oregano

2-3 T. fresh parsley, finely minced

lemon wedges

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water.

While pasta is cooking, saute the onion and garlic in a generous amount of olive oil until tender.

Add the asparagus and saute for 1 - 2 minutes max.

Add the sun dried tomatoes, artichoke, olives and oregano and saute just until heated through.

Add the cooked pasta to the pan along with a little pasta water. Fold in the parsley and plate. Squeeze a little fresh lemon over each dish and serve.

Note: I like to use sun dried tomatoes in oil for the added flavor.

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I feel a bit silly even including a recipe for hummus but every now and then I do run across someone who has no idea what hummus is or how to go about mixing it up. 

Hummus

1 15-oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 clove garlic

zest of 1 lemon

2 T. fresh lemon juice

1 T. tahini

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

½ tsp kosher salt

few grinds pepper

dash cayenne pepper

2-4 T. water

Place the garlic clove in the food processor first and mince. Add all the remaining ingredients and pulse to combine. Add the water as needed to reach the desired consistency (I use about 2 T)

Refrigerate to blend flavors. Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, fresh chopped parsley and pine nuts.