This Italian olive oil pasta is packed with fresh tomatoes, kalamata olives, cannellini beans, artichoke hearts, and fresh basil. Plus it is topped with garlic and red pepper infused olive oil, and it comes together in under 30 minutes! This recipe is a good way to beat the summer heat and because it is such a fast recipe, you can spend more time with your family, enjoying the summer evenings, or relaxing!
I love this recipe for so many reasons. It’s filling thanks to the cannellini beans, the kalamata olives bring in a little saltiness, which is then evened out by the fresh tomatoes and basil, and the garlic and red pepper infused olive oil brings in the tiniest bit of heat to round it all out.
I would definitely recommend using the best quality ingredients you can get your hands on. This recipe is so simple, that each of the ingredients really brings a lot to the table as far as flavor goes. The better the quality and freshness of your ingredients, the more intense and satisfying the flavors will be.
*Notes*
- I recommend using an extra virgin olive oil for this recipe because it has a much deeper flavor than lighter versions. Since this recipe doesn’t have a typical pasta sauce to go with it, extra virgin olive oil will bring a lot of flavor to the dish.
- 1 16 oz box angel hair pasta
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 15 oz can cannellini beans
- ½ cup kalamata olives
- 2 large garden tomatoes
- ½ cup marinated artichoke hearts
- 1 bunch fresh basil
- Bring a large pot of water to boil over medium high heat. Snap the pasta strands in half and add half the box of pasta to the boiling water. Boil until "al dente", about 4 minutes. Drain the pasta and set it aside.
- Heat a small sauce pan over medium heat and add the olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and crushed red pepper. Cook the olive oil sauce for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the garlic begins to fry and it becomes fragrant. Be sure to not let the garlic burn as it can burn very quickly and give the sauce a bitter taste. Once the garlic is done cooking, remove the sauce pan from the heat.
- Wash and chop the tomatoes, halve the olives, and slice the bunch of basil into ribbons. Next, Open the can of cannellini beans and rinse them thoroughly. Add the cooked pasta to a large bowl and add the beans, olives, tomatoes, and artichokes on top. Drizzle the olive oil sauce over the pasta and toss. Serve with the chopped basil!
