jerusalem pasta

I came across this recipe on Orangette, and was drawn in by its inclusion of so many wonderful things -- pine nuts, feta, Greek yogurt, basil! I didn't know it at the time, but it's from the Jerusalem cookbook, which apparently is taking the world over by storm. I read an article about how groundbreaking this book is - people are actually cooking through every recipe in this book, something which hasn't really been done since Julia Child's Mastering the art of French Cooking, which came out like... 50!? years ago! And, after having made this recipe, I must say I believe all the hype. This was amazingly delicious, a friend commented that they had never tasted anything so flavorful, and each component really popped. And, this is one of those dishes which happens to also be vegetarian, yet non-vegetarians people won't even notice/mind.

jerusalem pasta
makes 6 servings

2 ½ cups (500 g) whole-milk Greek yogurt
2/3 cup (150 ml) olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic, crushed or pressed
1 pound (500 g) fresh or thawed frozen peas
Kosher salt
1 pound (500 g) pasta shapes of your liking
Scant ½ cup (60 g) pine nuts
2 teaspoons Turkish or Syrian chile flakes, or red pepper flakes
1 2/3 cups (40 g) basil leaves, coarsely torn
8 ounces (240 g) feta cheese, coarsely crumbled

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the yogurt, 6 tablespoons (90 ml) of the olive oil, the garlic, and 2/3 cup (100 g) of the peas. Process to a uniform pale green sauce, and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and salt it until tastes like pleasantly salty seawater. Add the pasta, and cook until it is al dente. While the pasta cooks, warm the remaining olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and chile flakes, and cook for 4 minutes, or until the pine nuts are golden and the oil is deep red. Also, warm the remaining peas in some boiling water (you could scoop out a bit of the pasta water for this); then drain.

Drain the cooked pasta into a colander, and shake it well to get rid of excess water that may have settled into the pasta’s crevices. Add the pasta gradually to the yogurt sauce; adding it all at once may cause the yogurt to separate. Add the warm peas, the basil, feta, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Toss gently. Serve immediately, with pine nuts and chile oil spooned over each serving.