Last Monday, I hosted my annual book club Christmas Party. While I was putting things away after the festivities and was placing the lid back on the jar of Tuscan Antipasto I had as part of my cheese platter, I came to the conclusion that this would make an excellent sauce and topping for pasta. I placed the jar in the refrigerator with the intention of making that dish last week. Well, last week was super busy, probably the busiest I’ve had in the last 52 weeks … but, I loved every minute of it. I love the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. It’s a time for friends and family to be together and enjoy each other’s company … there’s nothing better.

I loved the way this jar looked when I found it at Trader Joe’s. I immediately knew it had to be part of my cheese platter and didn’t think further than that on what else I’d do with it. There are so many ways you could use this wonderful antipasto mix … over chicken, in pasta, by itself on a cheese platter with cheeses and Italian meats. All of it good, and good for you.

Below are a couple of pictures of how it looked on my cheese platter.

 

This jar contains a mixture of olives, artichokes, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes that are marinated in herbs – yum!

I poured this right over my hot, drained bowtie pasta and mixed it together.

The oil that the antipasto was packed in was all that was needed for this pasta sauce, I added no extra olive oil.

I added shards of parmesan and a pinch of crushed pepper flakes before serving.

 

This is about the easiest dinner you can make. It comes together in less than 20 minutes. It’s great for serving after a busy day as well as for serving to guests at a dinner party. It’s sure to impress! All you’d need to serve along with this dish is a nice, rustic, crusty loaf and a Caesar salad – your guests will surely love it, as will your family.

Note: Make sure to be careful of pits in the olives. I did have one olive that had a pit in it.

Ingredients

• 1 jar Tuscan Antipasto

• kosher salt for pasta water

• 1 package bowtie pasta

• shards of parmesan

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
2. Drain pasta and return to pot.
3. Pour jar of antipasto over pasta and mix together.
4. Top with parmesan.

Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris