Greek Style Pasta Recipes

GREEK PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the penne, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Rinse with cold water and drain well in a colander set in the sink.
• Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Set aside. Combine pasta, tomatoes, onion, green and red peppers, cucumber, olives, and feta cheese in a large bowl. Pour vinaigrette over the pasta and mix together. Cover and chill for 3 hours before serving.

GREEK PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Plunge whole tomatoes in water briefly, until skin starts to peel. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in cold water. Add pasta to boiling water and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• While pasta is cooking peel blanched tomatoes and chop.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil. Stir in garlic and mushrooms and saute until mushrooms begin to give up their juices. Stir in tomatoes and oregano and cook until tomatoes are tender.
• To serve, plate pasta, top with hot tomato sauce and sprinkle with feta and olives.

GREEK STYLE PASTA WITH SHRIMP AND FETA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Cut onion into thin slices and mince garlic cloves.
• In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the mixture is golden, about 5 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, oregano, basil and pepper, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat , breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, while you cook the pasta and prepare the shrimp.
• Add the pasta to the boiloing water and cook until al dente 10 to 12 minutes, or according to package directions .
• Shell and devein the shrimp.
• Uncover the sauce and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 3 minutes.
• Add the olives and half the feta cheese and stir to combine.
• Drain the pasta and serve topped with the shrimp and sauce. Garnish each serving with remaining feta cheese.

GREEK STYLE PASTA

Steps:

• Bring pot of lightly salted water to boil and add pasta.
• Cook until al dente.
• Meanwhile, in large frying pan, saute peppers and onion in olive oil for 3 minutes.
• Add artichokes and cherry tomatoes.
• Saute an additional 2 minutes.
• Add chicken broth to pan and heat through.
• Toss in feta cheese, olives and oregano.
• Stir over low heat until cheese begins to melt.
• Serve over hot pasta.
• Squeeze lemon juice over top.

GREEK CHICKEN PASTA

Steps:

• In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and oregano then add to skillet. Cook until chicken is golden and cooked through, about 8 minutes per side. Remove from chicken from skillet and let rest for 5 minutes.
• To the same skillet, heat remaining oil. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add half and half, cream cheese, and crumbled feta, and cook, stirring occasionally, until cheeses have melted. Stir in lemon juice and zest then season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Cut chicken into 2" pieces then add to skillet with cooked pasta, cherry tomatoes, olives, cucumber, and dill. Toss until evenly combined.
• Garnish with parsley before serving.

GREEK-STYLE PASTA WITH SHRIMP

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds. Add shrimp and sauté until almost cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add artichokes, feta, tomatoes, lemon juice, parsley and oregano and sauté until shrimp are cooked through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Transfer pasta to large bowl.
• Add shrimp mixture to pasta and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

GREEK SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. In a nonstick skillet, saute oregano and garlic in oil for 1 minute or until garlic is tender. Add the tomatoes, green onions, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and lemon juice; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until heated through. Remove from the heat., Drain spaghetti and add to tomato mixture. Add 3/4 cup feta cheese, salt and pepper; toss to combine. Transfer to serving plates. Sprinkle with remaining feta and parsley. Serve immediately.

CONTEST-WINNING GREEK PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, chicken, tomato sauce, tomatoes, spinach, olives, onion, green pepper, basil and oregano. , Transfer to a 13x9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake, uncovered, at 400° until heated through and cheese is melted. If desired, sprinkle with oregano or basil. Freeze option: Cool unbaked casserole; cover and freeze. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 400°. Bake casserole as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°.

KIDS' PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Fill a medium saucepan with hot water from the tap until it's three-quarters full. Set the pan on the hob. Season the water with a pinch of salt, then turn the heat to medium-high - the water should start to boil after a minute or so. Slowly tip the pasta into the boiling water - do this carefully, as any splashes could burn your skin.
• Holding the handle of the saucepan with one hand (use a cloth if it's hot), carefully stir the pasta with a long wooden spoon in the other hand - this will prevent the pasta from sticking together. Set a timer for 10 mins. Stir the pasta every minute or so, and keep checking the heat to make sure the water is gently boiling while the timer counts down.
• While the pasta cooks, measure 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar and 1 tsp dried oregano into a mixing bowl. Season with some salt and black pepper, and mix well - this will make a zingy dressing for the pasta.
• When the timer beeps, it's time to check if the pasta is cooked. To do this, scoop one piece of pasta out of the boiling water using the wooden spoon, tip it onto a plate and leave it to cool slightly. Taste the pasta: if it's soft, it's cooked through, but if it's still a little hard in the middle, it needs to cook for a bit longer. Set the timer for another 2 mins, then check again.
• Place a large colander or sieve in the sink. When the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat and, using two hands, carefully carry the saucepan over to the sink and tip the pasta into the colander to drain away the hot water. Leave to cool for a few minutes in the colander, then tip the pasta into the mixing bowl with the dressing. Mix together until the pasta is coated in the dressing.
• Put a chopping board on a work surface. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half by pinching each one between your thumb and index finger, and carefully slicing through the middle of the tomato with a small serrated knife. Slice the pitted olives in the same way, then tip all the tomatoes and olives into the pasta.
• Put the cucumber on the chopping board and cut it in half lengthways. Lay the two halves on the board cut-side down, so they don't roll around. Cut each piece in half again, so you have four long, chunky pieces. Cut across the cucumber pieces in the other direction so you end up with small cucumber triangles. Tip these into the bowl with the pasta, tomatoes and olives.
• Put the onion on the board and hold it securely. Cut off the pointy end, then cut the onion in half through the root end. Peel away the papery outer layers until you're left with just the shiny onion underneath. Lay each onion half on the board, cut-side down so it doesn't roll around. Holding onto the root end, carefully slice the halves into half-moon shapes, as thinly as you can. Stop when you get to the root. Tip the onions into the bowl.
• Crumble the feta cheese into small pieces over the bowl, then gently mix everything together until well combined. Eat straightaway, or chill for up to a day before eating.