Kampanoules With Peppers and Basil
Jan 14th, 2009 | By Peter Minakis | Category: Greek, Main, Pasta, Recipe, Sauce, Vegetables, Vegetarian
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a pasta dish. It’s not that I haven’t been eating pasta (I have) but I’m also not going to bore you with another Bolognese recipe or any other standard pasta dish that most of us regularly enjoy.
Instead, it’s time to showcase another rustic dish, filling yet light on the pocket and the palate. Last year Misko of Greece sent me some samples of their Greek pasta and one of the more unique shapes were their “kampanoules” (καμπανοÏλες) or in English – “little bells”.
The package reads that they are indigenous to the province of Thessalia, which sits between Macedonia and and Attica. The shape of this pasta also mimics the shape of the little bell-shaped flowers that grow wild on the mountainsides.
Enough with flowers, pasta tastes better, no?
This recipe comes from the side of the package of Kampanpoules. This is a simple dish, using only vegetables, herbs, olive oil and the pasta itself. I’ve made this dish a few times and it always satisfies me with it’s fresh flavours and I never feel bad about eating a big bowl.
Another Greek cheese that’s grated on top of pasta dishes is the aged, dry Myzithra. Myzithra comes fresh and aged and it’s made like ricotta cheese (from the leftover whey).
Dry Myzithra comes in large, grapefruit sized balls, it’s a hard and salty cheese. When grated it has the characteristics of a mild Romano.
Kampanoules With Peppers and Basil (καμπανοÏλες με πιπεÏιÎÏ‚ και βασιλικό)
(for 4)
2 cups or 500gr. of “καμπανοÏλες”
1 cup of diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
1/3 cup olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small red onion, diced
1 cup of fresh button mushrooms, sliced
1 green pepper (banana or cubanelle), sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1/3 cup pitted black olives, rough chop
1 cup of fresh basil, chiffonade
Grated dry Myzithra cheese
- Place a large pot of water on your stovetop and bring to a boil. Add a good amount of salt and cook your pasta (kampanoules) for 10-13 minutes.
- In a large skillet, add your olive oil over medium heat and add the onions and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes. Now add your mushrooms, tomatoes and peppers and simmer for about 8-10 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the chopped olives and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.
- When your pasta is cooked, drain it and add to the sauce along with your basil and toss to coat all the pasta with the sauce.
- Divide pasta into four plates and grate the dry Myzithra over each serving.
If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.blogspot.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author. © 2007-2009 Peter Minakis
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Pretty looking pasta, & a very simple & easy recipe. I love all the fresh things that went in there.
Soma(www.ecurry.com)
Just gorgeous Peter and perfect for the freezing cold weather we are having.
Love the little bells! And this is a good, simple and healthy pasta dish that I know I’d enjoy. That Greek cheese sounds interesting – we see very little in the way of Greek cheeses over here.
I love the shape of that pasta and the ribboned edge.The cheese sounds really intersting too.You Grreks have some great cheeses I see.
I made myself a promise not to buy anymore pasta until I used up everything in the house. I gotta tell ya – you’re making my life very difficult.
Such an unusual pasta shape. Simple flavorings make for the best pasta.