Pasta with yoghurt, peas and chilli - Ottolenghi recipe

Pasta with yoghurt, peas, parsley , feta
with walnuts toasted in chilli olive oil on top

Various recipes lately have been making me realise how awesome peas are.  Including this unusual recipe from Ottolenghi for pasta with yoghurt, peas and chilli.

Overall verdict:  lovely.  Though unexpectedly not that hot (in the temperature sense) because the yoghurty mixture isn't hot when you mix it with the pasta - it kind of tastes more like a pasta salad than a main course pasta dish, if you know what I mean.  I really really liked the nuts toasted in olive oil with chilli flakes especially - that is totally happening again for me on top of other pasta dishes.  And I think I might test out other options with the yoghurty pasta sauce concept as well - burnt aubergine in it would be nice, I reckon..

Anyway.  Back to this recipe:   you blend some yoghurt, peas, garlic and olive oil in a food processor:

Yoghurt, peas, garlic and olive oil

While you cook the pasta, toast some nuts in olive oil with chilli flakes.  Ottolenghi says pine nuts but I went for walnuts because I like them better and had some left over from this pesto experiment.   And also I didn't have any pine nuts.  You should, at the same time, cook the remaining peas - Ottolenghi suggests doing this in a third pan but I didn't want my lovely husband to hate me (he does the washing up) so I just put them in with the pasta, half way through.  You can totally tell from Ottolenghi's recipes that he creates them in a restaurant kitchen where he does not have to do the washing up or be married to the person who does the washing up.

Toasting walnuts in olive oil with chilli flakes

Toasting walnuts in olive oil with chilli flakes

Toasting walnuts in olive oil with chilli flakes

Chop up some feta and herbs - Ottolenghi says basil but I went for parsley for roughly similar reasons to the pine-nuts/walnuts thing earlier!  I think mint/dill would be nice too.

Feta and parsley

You then stir it all together - adding the yoghurt mixture slowly to the pasta to avoid it splitting - and with the nuts on top to look artistic.

Pasta with yoghurt, peas, parsley and feta

Pasta with yoghurt, peas, parsley and feta

Pasta with yoghurt, peas, parsley , feta
with walnuts toasted in chilli olive oil on top