Pasta with Lemon, Olives, and Basil

     Arnauld requested "a simple pasta" for dinner tonight.  He said, "something like olive oil and crushed red pepper.  That's it."  As he described his dream dish, I thought to myself, "that won't make a very exciting blog post."  So I turned to my favorite food apps and found a recipe from Whole Foods that had just a few ingredients and sounded like it would be fresh and delicious.  When I told Arnauld I wanted to spice it up a bit, he said "Can't you ever just listen to me?"  I listened but knew I could do better.  When dinner was finally on the table, his exact words were "Wow!  This looks great.  This was just what I was thinking of." 

Pasta with Lemon, Olives, and Basil

Ingredients
1/2 lb penne pasta
Zest and Juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup Kalama olives, sliced
1/4 cup basil, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Combine the lemon zest and juice, oil, garlic, olives, and basil in a large bowl.  Whisk these ingredients together.
3. After draining the pasta, add it to the lemon mixture and mix together.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.  You can top this dish with a little fresh Parmesan if desired.

The Taste Test
     This dish had a strong lemon flavor that made it taste fresh and light.  The olives added a nice salty contrast.  Arnauld and I both enjoyed this quick and easy dinner.  I quickly cooked up some shrimp for Arnauld to add to his pasta.  I bet this would also taste great with some grilled chicken if you wanted to add some protein.  Arnauld is already excited because he froze the leftovers and plans to have them next Saturday when I'm not around.