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Spaghetti with ajvar, mozzarella and smashed olives

Name: Spaghetti with ajvar, mozzarella and smashed olives
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: spaghetti 150g; whole roasted red peppers 3 from a jar; garlic 1/2 clove; thyme 2 sprigs, stripped of leaves; pine nuts 2 tbsp toasted, plus extra to serve; a handful; kalamata olives 14; mozzarella or burrata 1 ball

15 minutes
serves 2
Easy

Try our fresh and simple vegetarian spaghetti recipe with creamy mozzarella, smashed olives and ajvar. Ajvar, a sauce traditionally from the Balkans and made up primarily of red peppers, is super quick and easy to whip up and great to use in summer pasta dishes. You can easily exchange the spaghetti for linguine and mozzarella for burrata

Published: July 17, 2017 at 12:20 pm

Ingredients

spaghetti 150g
whole roasted red peppers 3 from a jar
garlic 1/2 clove
thyme 2 sprigs, stripped of leaves
extra-virgin olive oil
pine nuts 2 tbsp toasted, plus extra to serve
flat-leaf parsley a handful
kalamata olives 14
mozzarella or burrata 1 ball

Method

Step 1

Cook the spaghetti in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente.
Step 2

For the ajvar, put the roasted peppers, garlic, thyme and 2 tbsp olive oil in a food processor and whizz until puréed. Add the pine nuts and parsley and pulse a few times until chunky.
Step 3

Squash the olives with the flat of a large knife to pop out the stones, then cut the flesh into quarters.
Step 4

Drain the pasta, tear in the mozzarella and toss with the pepper ajvar. Divide between two plates then scatter over the olives and more pine nuts, if you like.