Pappardelle with rose harissa, black olives and capers

Pappare means 'to gobble up' in Italian, which is the destiny of this dish. To make it less spicy, the quantity of harissa can easily be reduced. You can make the sauce up to 3 days ahead and keep in the fridge until needed.

Pappardelle with rose harissa, black olives and capers Credit: Jonathan Lovekin

• serves

  4

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion (220 g) , thinly sliced 
• 3 tbsp (45 g) rose harissa
• 400 g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 55 g pitted Kalamata olives, torn in half
• 20 g baby capers
• 500 g dried pappardelle pasta (or another wide, flat pasta)
• 15 g parsley, roughly chopped
• 120 g Greek-style yoghurt
• salt

Instructions

1. Put the oil into a large sauté pan, for which you have a lid, and place on a medium high heat. Once hot, add the onion and fry for 8 minutes, stirring every once in a while, until soft and caramelised. Add the harissa, tomatoes, olives, capers and ½ teaspoon of salt and continue to fry for 3–4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes start to break down. Add 200ml of water and stir through. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium low, cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the lid of the sauce and continue to cook for 4–5 minutes, until the sauce is thick and rich. Stir in 10g of the parsley and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, fill a large pot with plenty of salted water and place on a high heat. Once boiling, add the pappardelle and cook according to the packet instructions, until al dente. Drain well.
3. Return the pasta to the pot along with the harissa sauce and 8 teaspoon of salt. Mix together well, then divide between four shallow bowls. Serve hot, with a spoonful of yoghurt and a final sprinkle of parsley.

 

This is an extract from Ottolenghi SIMPLE by Yotam Ottolenghi. Photography by Jonathan Lovekin. Published by Penguin Random House Australia (RRP $55.00).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.