Here is a simple, delicious pasta dish from Puglia, Italy. The noodles, Bucatini, are tossed with a sauce full of Southern Italian flavors: olive oil, garlic, chile pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, almonds, black olives, orange zest, and basil. There are so many great flavor combinations at work here. It may seem like a lot of ingredients for a pasta sauce, but they all go well together, and are all invaluable ingredients in the Southern Italian pantry. Olives, citrus fruits, and almonds are often grown in the same area in Italy, so it is common to see them combined like this.

Bucatini is a great pasta shape not often seen in America. It’s like a thicker version of spaghetti, but with a hollow center. Sauces like this one coat bucatini nicely, because of its larger surface area. At the same time, being a dried pasta, it doesn’t absorb too much of the oil.

This is the second version of a pasta dish I made from a pork ragu. I had bought a half pork shoulder, braised it in white wine and chicken stock with fennel, red onion, carrots, and celery, shredded the meat, and continued to braise for a total of about four hours. I only paid about $4 for the bone-in half shoulder, and it gave me eight or nine servings of ragu – enough for me to make two different versions from the base recipe.

I finished the first version with escarole and orange zest, to add bitter green and sweet citrus notes to the dish. This version, then, I finished with green olives and toasted almonds, a delicious combination used in parts of Italy where both of those are grown. Although I was happy with the escarole version, this one was my favorite, because the play of the nuttiness, crunch, and brininess of the almonds and olives against the rich, smooth ragu was so enjoyable.

Peperonata is one of the classic Italian pasta sauces, with many different variations. This ziti dish adds an interesting combination, green olives and toasted almonds, to the basic peperonata recipe. The result is a sweet, zesty sauce with a wonderful crunch that is not usually expected in a pasta sauce.

Other than its use as a pasta sauce, peperonata sauces like the one in this recipe can also be served as an antipasto with toasted bread, or as a spread on a sandwich. The sauce can be chunky or smoothly pureed, and can be garlicky, or spiked with capers and anchovies, or full of the fresh taste of basil, mint, oregano, or thyme. For a pureed version of peperonata, see this post: Green Tagliatelle with Roasted Pepper and Garlic Puree, a colorful red on green pasta dish.

If you’re making this recipe, you may want to make a double batch of peperonata. Then you could make this version with half the peperonata, and experiment with adding other flavors to the other half: anchovies, capers, different herbs, etc. One of the best things about pasta is all the variety the medium allows, and the free hand it gives the cook in experimenting with different inspirations.

I enjoyed the combination of green olives and almonds so much that I added them to a pasta with pork ragu that I made recently. I posted it here: Green Tagliatelle with Fennel Pork Ragu, Green Olives, and Almonds. The olives and almonds combination is a result of them both being grown in Southern Italy.

I worked at a Mediterranean restaurant that served a lot of small plates, similar to tapas, and I used to love making this dish. The flavors are a mix of deep earthiness and sweet licorice, and the textures a mix of tender and crunchy.

Use wild mushrooms such as oyster and shiitake, or a mix of these and the less expensive button or cremini mushrooms.

Cut the stems from the mushrooms, and cut the caps into halves or quarters, depending on size. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast in a 350-375 oven for about 15 minutes, or until tender.

Let the mushrooms cool, then toss with chopped tarragon, and sliced almonds. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.

Marinated olives & toasted almonds is a classic pairing for an appetizer or meze at a Mediterranean table. There are various recipes for olive marinades; some are very aromatic, others on the spicy side, with minced hot peppers or chili flakes. This one has a distinct citrus kick, from a Moroccan ingredient, preserved lemons.  The sour notes from the julienned preserved lemon peel are offset by sweet cinnamon and clove.

Olive Marinade:

Submerge olives in olive oil. Add: a few crushed garlic cloves, a bay leaf, a couple cinnamon sticks, a couple cloves, and some julienned preserved lemon peel.

Spiced Almonds:

(Use marcona almonds, the larger type. They will be peeled and blanched).

Toast almonds in one layer on a sheet pan in 350 or 375 oven for 10 minutes or so, until they are nicely browned. Check them after 7 minutes and stir them around so they toast evenly. When done, toss in a mixing bowl with salt, dark brown sugar, chopped rosemary, and paprika. Add these seasonings gradually and to taste. The almonds will be perfect when they’re a little salty, a little sweet, and a little spicy, with a fresh undertone from the rosemary.

The marinated olives keep for a very long time in the fridge. When I worked in a Mediterranean restaurant we would marinate a huge plastic tub full of olives, which would last two months or so. In fact the flavor improves over time as the olives absorb the marinade. If you have a dinner party, do what I did and make a big bowl of marinated olives of different types (Cerignola, Nicoise, Kalamata). It will be a colorful decoration on your table, and afterwards you can gradually make use of all the leftover olives by chopping them and throwing them in pasta sauces and salads.