Pasta with peas, yogurt and basil

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 250 g pasta, any
• 250 g peas, frozen
• 250 g yogurt (cream yogurt), Greek
• 140 g feta cheese, made from sheep’s or goat’s milk
• 25 g pine nuts
• 1 medium-sized garlic clove(s), squeezed or finely chopped
• 3 chili peppers, small and dried
• 75 ml olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• pepper
• 10 basil leaves

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 35 minutes

vegetarian

Bring the water for the pasta to a boil in a pot with 1 teaspoon of salt. Meanwhile, combine 100g of the frozen peas, the yogurt, 1 teaspoon of salt, 25ml of olive oil, and the crushed garlic clove in a blender, chopper, or food processor. Blend until the peas are completely chopped. Cut the feta into very small pieces and add to a large bowl with the yogurt and pea mixture. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Two minutes before the end of the cooking time, add the remaining 150g of peas to the water. Meanwhile, crush the chilies in a mortar and pestle. Heat the remaining olive oil in a pan and add the chilies and pine nuts. Toast the pine nuts until golden brown. When the pine nuts are ready, set them aside. Drain the pasta and peas in a colander. DO NOT rinse with cold water! Add the drained pasta and peas to the mixture in the bowl, along with the pine nuts, chilies, and oil from the pan. Mix everything well and serve on plates. Roughly tear the basil leaves and scatter them over the pasta. Sprinkle with pepper. Tips: The smaller the pasta, the shorter the cooking time. It’s best to prepare everything in advance and wait for the pasta. Pine nuts turn black very quickly, so it’s best to stand there and watch them before they burn. If you can’t find Greek cream yogurt, you can also use Turkish yogurt. The only important thing is that it has a 10% fat content. Regular yogurt curdles when it comes into contact with the hot pasta. Small pasta is best because it absorbs a lot of the sauce and mixes well. Spaghetti is not really suitable for this dish. The dish/leftovers can also be eaten cold as a pasta salad.