We are always glad to welcome in the summer with a Greek Crudaiola anytime and anywhere! 
In the original Italian version of Crudaiola (crudo = raw), the pasta, instead of having a sauce, is mixed with ingredients which are usually limited to tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, but here we have a Greek counter-proposal! My Pasta Crudaiola a la Grecque recipe is for Caserecce pasta mixed with a composition of classic Greek raw vegetables along with feta cheese and extra virgin olive oil, all stirred into the pasta while still in the pot. Something like a Greek salad on hot pasta! What’s not to like!
Crudaiola is an excellent solution when you are too tired to cook, but you want more than just a simple salad.
With this recipe, I want to promote the idea of combining pasta with raw ingredients and show you how you can adapt this to anyone’s taste. You can experiment with the ingredients! And of course it can also be eaten cold, like a salad – making it the perfect summer picnic dish.
I promise you that Pasta Crudaiola a la Grecque will put you into the summer mood!
The recipe:
Pasta Crudaiola a la Grecque is simple, easy, quick, healthy, fresh, delicious, colourful, light and summery and many more adjectives!
You’re done in 15 minutes and you can improvise with the ingredients, as long as you do not wander too far from the basic idea of freshness, crispness and a summer mood.
For the herbs, you can easily replace parsley with basil or mint (but I wouldn’t recommend using dill).
I chose Caserecce because this pasta is shaped like mini rolled-up scrolls. This shape makes it easy for the olive oil, feta and fresh ingredients to sit on, and so each mouthful gets a great balance of all the flavours at once. Alternatively, you could also use Fusilli Tricolore or Mezze Penne Tricolore which add colour and flavour.
Ingredients ( for 4):
500 g Casarecce Siciliane
100 g Greek feta cheese, roughly crumbled
20-25 cherry tomatoes cut into 2-3 pieces
1 green pointed pepper, chopped
1 red pointed pepper, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
3 spring onions, sliced
10-15 Kalamata olives, pitted
2 tbl. Capers, rinsed
2 tbl. finely chopped parsley or basil
A few leaves of fresh oregano
50 ml Greek extra virgin olive oil
Pink peppercorns (optional)
6 Anchovy fillets (optional)
Preparation:
1. Prepare the ingredients:
Slice the peppers and the spring onions. Cut the tomatoes into 2-3 pieces depending on their size. Crush the garlic. Pit the olives if they aren’t bought ready-pitted and rinse the capers. Chop the parsley or whichever herb you’ve chosen. Crumble the feta cheese into smaller pieces with your fingers.
2. Boil the pasta:
Put 4 litres of water on to boil and once it has come to the boil, take off the lid and add 2 tbsp. salt to the water. Add the Casarecce and set a timer. Stir every so often and at 9 minutes, check to see if it’s ready. As soon as it is al dente, strain and then tip the pasta back into the saucepan.
3. Make the Crudaiola a la Grecque:
In the pot with the hot pasta, pour the olive oil and then tip in all the rest of the ingredients. Stir for 2 minutes, allowing the feta cheese to melt slightly and the tomatoes to heat through.
That simple!
Serving:
Serve the crudaiola with hot pasta a la minute and use the leftovers as a cold pasta salad, rejuvenated with some extra olive oil and lemon juice.
