Heirloom Tomato Pasta w/Sausage, Olives, and Feta

I started "Annie One Can Cook" almost two years ago as a way to get myself into the kitchen more often and to learn/invent new recipes.. and it worked!


For a good two months or so.

Annieway (ha, see what I did there?), I typically don't post too many recipes these days but had to share this amazing dish with you all!

My mom and her sisters had a girls weekend in September and my mom went on and on about this pasta dish that my Aunt Nancy made, how delicious it was, and how they couldn't stop eating it. She told me it had heritage tomatoes (whatever those are) and that I would have loved it. When we went to visit my aunt in October, she made the dish for dinner so my dad and I could try it and served it with delicious bread and a beautiful salad.

Turns out, it actually has heirloom tomatoes in it (my mom keeps accidentally calling them "heritage tomatoes" so that's what we've been calling them) and it is really, really delicious--and super easy to make!

Enjoy this colorful, light, and refreshing Heirloom Tomato Pasta with Sausage, Olives, & Feta Cheese!

My mom was right--you can't have just one helping!

Anngredients:

• 2 pounds ripe heirloom tomatoes
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 pound ground Italian sausage
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound orecchiette pasta
• 1 cup crumbled feta

1. In a skillet, brown Italian sausage. 
2. Cut tomatoes into small dice. Combine tomatoes and any accumulated juices with olive oil, salt, and pepper in a large nonreactive bowl, stir gently to coat well, and let sit at room temperature at least 10 minutes or up to 3 hours before serving.
3. When tomatoes are ready, add sausage, olives, basil, and garlic and mix until well combined. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to the package directions. (If the tomatoes have not let off a lot of juice, reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining.)
4. Toss warm pasta with tomato mixture, adding pasta cooking water as needed. Fold in feta and serve.

The original recipe for this dish was posted on Chow--the Italian sausage was a (delicious!) modification made my aunt.