If you made the olive and bell pepper tapenade earlier in the week, this meal has very little prep and comes together fast. The flavors of this dish play well off each other, so serve them in shallow bowls, getting a bit of everything in each bite.
Olives, mixed and pitted green and kalamata
- 3/4 cup
(ideally from the olive bar)
Roasted red bell peppers
- 4 oz
, drained and chopped
(from a jar)
Garlic
- 2 cloves
Capers
- 1 tsp
, drained and rinsed
Celery seed (opt)
- 1/4 tsp
Oregano, dried
- 1/4 tsp
Vinegar, red wine
- 1 tsp
Italian Pasta with Roasted Chickpeas and Zucchini:
Pasta, ditalini
- 8 oz
(sub orzo or any small pasta shape)
Zucchini
- 1 1/2 lbs
, cubed
Tomatoes, cherry or grape
- 1 1/2 cups
, halved
Thyme, fresh
- 2 sprigs
, leaves torn
Lemon zest
- 1 tsp
Beans, garbanzo (14 oz / 397 g)
- 1 can
, drained and rinsed
Oil, cooking
- 1 Tbsp
Prep
Make tapenade - (Skip if tapenade was made ahead for Tuesday.) Combine olives, roasted bell peppers, garlic, capers, celery seed, dried oregano, and vinegar in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until everything is chopped but some pea-sized pieces still remain. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can chop everything very finely by hand or use an immersion blender or standing blender, which will produce a more smooth tapenade.) Taste and season with some salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
Cook pasta - (Skip if made ahead for Monday. If prepping right before cooking, get the oven heating / vegetables roasting while pasta water is coming to a boil.) Cook pasta according to package directions. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
Zucchini - Cube zucchini. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
Tomatoes - Halve tomatoes. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
Thyme sprigs / Lemon zest - Prep as directed and combine. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
Beans - Drain and rinse.
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