Pasta with Yoghurt and Peas

The boy grew up thinking pasta only ever included sauces based on tomato. He’s been very happily persuaded otherwise. It’s  funny time of year – not warm or cold so this should be ideal. Warming but fresh tasting at the same time.

500ml Turkish yoghurt

4 garlic cloves, crushed

150ml olive oil

500g fresh peas

500h conchiglie pasta

60g pine nuts

2tbsp kirmizi biber

40g basil leaves, torn up

240g feta cheese broken into chunks

Salt and white pepper

A note on the ingredients first – conchiglie pasta is the one shaped like a shell. Kirmizi biber is a mild Turkish chilli flake that has been rolled in oil. Pine nuts are surprisingly expensive. The yoghurt is proper thick Turkish yoghurt, by the way, not the home made stuff we did yesterday, which isn't thick enough. This is another dish from the master, Yotam Ottolenghi. I would happily give up meat and follow his recipes forever. The boy says he might think about it, which is praise indeed.

The boy is assembling the food processor as he likes gadgets. We need to get a better one. Once he’s got it together he adds the yoghurt, garlic, two thirds of the oil and 100g of the peas. He eats a small handful, which is why I started out with an extra 50g to compensate. He blitzes it until I say stop, which is when it is a pale green colour. Once he’s poured it into a large bowl he slopes off to watch The Simpsons on TV.

Cook the pasta until al dente, in lots of salty water. While it’s cooking, heat the remaining oil in a small frying pan and cook the pine nuts, being careful not to burn them. Add the kirmzi bulber, which will turn the oil orange.

Two minutes before the pasta is ready, tip in the peas. It will save washing another pan. When ready, drain it well. Tip it into the yoghurt sauce, but do it gradually so the sauce doesn’t split. Add the feta and basil and season with the salt and white pepper.

Transfer to bowls and then sprinkle on some pine nuts and spoon over some of the chilli infused oil from the pan.

The boy has popped a bottle of soave into the fridge and is opening it as if we’d already agreed to this. Good choice though.