Mediterranean Stir-Fry
I was sitting at my desk at work, wanting to cook something interesting for dinner and idly wondering what I ought to try, when out of the blue an Idea hit me: Mediterranean Stir-Fry. Olive oil instead of sesame oil! Garlic! Tomatoes! Olives! DELICIOUSNESS.
So I stopped at the grocery store for Roma tomatoes and came home and got cooking. It turned out really delicious:
Now, granted, I know it's not strictly a stir-fry, but kind of a freaky stir-fry/lo mein mutant hybrid, but it was still delicious. And since "mediterranean stir-fry" was the phrase that popped into my head and inspired this, that's what I'm calling it. And I wanted to share this with the community as a massive THANK YOU for all the advice last week on trying new veggies. I've already braved up to try roasted sweet potatoes and raw carrots, and it turns out I really like both. All of the advice given was really helpful <3
Mediterranean Stir-Fry
Ingredients:
1 lb spaghetti (break the package in half for shorter noodles)
1 can olives
3 Roma tomatoes
1 can artichoke hearts
2-3 T olive oil (extra virgin = extra goodness)
2 or 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced (I vote 4! And use FRESH stuff, it's way better)
3-4 T pesto
3-4 T Lemon Juice
Cook spaghetti as per directions. While it is cooking, slice the olives, finely dice the tomatoes, and slice/chop the artichoke hearts and they try to escape your fingers. Try to have it all sliced and diced before the spaghetti is done.
Drain the spaghetti when it's cooked, and get a big skillet on the stove on close-to-high-but-not-really. Like 8 on a scale of 1-10 is good. Drizzle some olive oil in there, then chuck in the garlic and let it start sizzling. When the garlic is sizzling reeeeeeel good, dump in the spaghetti, then the olives, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts. Let it sizzle for a minute, then start stirring.
When things start getting heated through, add the pesto and lemon juice. I didn't really measure either, my best approximation is 3-4 tablespoons pesto and maybe about the same of lemon juice. Stir it until everything is all mixed up and hot and you can't stand the smell anymore. Then scoop some into a bowl, add salt & pepper to taste, and start shoveling it into your face.
Notes: This would be super awesome with parmesan or feta cheese, or both. Also, if I'd had some chicken, it would have been good cut into cubes and cooked in the skillet before adding garlic and pasta and such.
The lemon seems to be the key ingredient, oddly enough. The lemon juice was not present when I made my first taste, and I thought it needed something. I tried adding a bit of lemon juice and suddenly it was AMAZING. Don't skip the lemon juice!
So I stopped at the grocery store for Roma tomatoes and came home and got cooking. It turned out really delicious:
Now, granted, I know it's not strictly a stir-fry, but kind of a freaky stir-fry/lo mein mutant hybrid, but it was still delicious. And since "mediterranean stir-fry" was the phrase that popped into my head and inspired this, that's what I'm calling it. And I wanted to share this with the community as a massive THANK YOU for all the advice last week on trying new veggies. I've already braved up to try roasted sweet potatoes and raw carrots, and it turns out I really like both. All of the advice given was really helpful <3
Mediterranean Stir-Fry
Ingredients:
1 lb spaghetti (break the package in half for shorter noodles)
1 can olives
3 Roma tomatoes
1 can artichoke hearts
2-3 T olive oil (extra virgin = extra goodness)
2 or 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced (I vote 4! And use FRESH stuff, it's way better)
3-4 T pesto
3-4 T Lemon Juice
Cook spaghetti as per directions. While it is cooking, slice the olives, finely dice the tomatoes, and slice/chop the artichoke hearts and they try to escape your fingers. Try to have it all sliced and diced before the spaghetti is done.
Drain the spaghetti when it's cooked, and get a big skillet on the stove on close-to-high-but-not-really. Like 8 on a scale of 1-10 is good. Drizzle some olive oil in there, then chuck in the garlic and let it start sizzling. When the garlic is sizzling reeeeeeel good, dump in the spaghetti, then the olives, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts. Let it sizzle for a minute, then start stirring.
When things start getting heated through, add the pesto and lemon juice. I didn't really measure either, my best approximation is 3-4 tablespoons pesto and maybe about the same of lemon juice. Stir it until everything is all mixed up and hot and you can't stand the smell anymore. Then scoop some into a bowl, add salt & pepper to taste, and start shoveling it into your face.
Notes: This would be super awesome with parmesan or feta cheese, or both. Also, if I'd had some chicken, it would have been good cut into cubes and cooked in the skillet before adding garlic and pasta and such.
The lemon seems to be the key ingredient, oddly enough. The lemon juice was not present when I made my first taste, and I thought it needed something. I tried adding a bit of lemon juice and suddenly it was AMAZING. Don't skip the lemon juice!