Pasta With Olives Piquant (Moosewood) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb spaghetti or 1 lb other pastas
1 1/2 cups assorted pitted olives
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese (optional) or 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (optional)

Preparation

Cook pasta until al dente.
Finely mince olives.
Combine oil and garlic in a heavy pan, heating over low heat until golden in color.
Add red pepper flakes, olives and parsley.
Stir constantly, cooking just until parsley wilts.
Remove from heat.
Before draining pasta, dip out 1 cup of the water.
Drain pasta and transfer the noodles to your serving bowl.
Toss in your olive sauce.
Use a little of the cooking water that you saved to \"wash\" the remaining sauce out of the pan. Toss the water/sauce mix into the pasta.
Add more cooking water if your pasta seems dry.
Top with grated cheese.