Author Notes
I've been a fan of peppadews (those little, round, red peppers from South Africa) for quite some time and often add them to my dishes. They really seem to add a savory depth of flavor that gives the dish an extra special "umph" and satisfies my "umami tooth", if you will. Peppadews are mildly sweet, mildly hot and come in a briny liquid giving them a mildly salty quality. I find the best ones are in the olive bar at my local market. Recently, I made muffins from a recipe I found in Bon Appetit magazine featuring peppadews, and with the left over ingredients I decided to make a pasta dish. It was heavenly. Warm cherry tomatoes bursting with flavor, fresh spinach and hearty whole-wheat pasta rounded out this dish. Topping it with Greek feta cheese took this dish from simple to sublime. —The Enchanted Cook
Ingredients
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16 ounces
dry organic whole wheat capellini pasta
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2 tablespoons
extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
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2-3
large cloves of garlic, minced
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3/4 cup
peppadews, chopped (reserve 2 Tablespoons briny liquid they're stored in)
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1 1/2 cups
whole organic cherry tomatoes
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1 cup
fresh organic spinach leaves, roughly chopped
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1/2 cup
Greek feta cheese
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Kosher salt, to taste
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freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Directions
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Prepare pasta according to directions and using heavily-salted water.
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Meanwhile heat skillet to medium and add olive oil. Add garlic, peppadews, and cherry tomatoes and saute for 1-2 minutes.
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Add drained pasta, spinach, and reserved briny liquid from peppadews to skillet containing peppadew mixture. Toss together and cook for another 1-2 minutes until spinach begins to soften and wilt. Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste and a drizzle of olive oil.
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Serve immediately with crumbled feta cheese on top.
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