Black Olive Pasta

Ingredients:

– 300 g linguine (or pasta of your choice)  

– 1 clove of garlic  

– 200 g pitted black olives  

– 4 sprigs of thyme (ideally fresh)  

– 50 g feta  

– 1–2 tbsp balsamic vinegar  

– Juice of ½ lemon (or a little lemon juice)  

– Olive oil  

– Salt and pepper  

Instructions:

1. Cook the pasta according to package instructions in a large pot of salted boiling water.  

2. While the pasta cooks, peel the garlic clove. In a blender or food processor, combine the garlic, black olives (use about half or ¾ of them), the thyme leaves (stripped from the stems), a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a splash of the pasta cooking water if needed. Blend until you get a fairly smooth but still slightly chunky sauce (add a bit more oil or water if it’s too thick — it should be creamy but not completely puréed). Season with pepper (and a little salt if needed, but olives and feta are already salty).  

3. Taste the sauce and adjust: add more balsamic vinegar (1 coffee spoon ≈ 1 tsp at a time) up to about 6 tsp total if you like it tangier, otherwise leave as is. If it’s too thick, thin it with a little more pasta water or olive oil. (You can also keep some whole olives aside to add texture.)  

4. Drain the pasta (reserve a little cooking water if the sauce needs thinning later). Toss the hot pasta with the olive sauce. Crumble or slice the feta finely on top, then garnish with the remaining olives (if you kept some whole), a drizzle of olive oil, the lemon juice, and a few thyme leaves.  

**Optional / tip**  

The sauce can be prepared in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days (in an airtight container). It can even be frozen. Just reheat gently or toss directly with hot pasta.  

Enjoy — it’s a super fast, flavorful, and very Mediterranean dish! 😊