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I love sharing longstanding Family recipes with you guys, and this one is a fave for us!
A little backstory: my parents weren’t “together” very long before they conceived me (I was a big surprise LOL). They were in a relationship for a few years after my birth, and during that time, they lived mostly in Italy, where my father is from, and they used to make this Creamy Olive Pasta A LOT. My father says it was basically their go-to whenever they’d have friends over. It’s so delicious and has the best mix of savory saltiness from the briny olives, a hint of sweetness from the sun-dried tomatoes, and that velvety creaminess to pull it all together. I can eat bowlfuls and bowlfuls of it. It’s definitely a crowd-pleaser.
Accounts differ as to who taught whom the recipe (LOL) but needless to say, both parties went on to make it with their subsequent families.
in this picture
Whenever I was visiting my father and stepmother in Italy, we used to have this Creamy Olive Pasta all the time. In fact, one of my sisters who lives in LA saw that I was making this the other day, and told us she wanted to jump through the phone to eat some. Just saying! I shared the finished pasta on Instagram stories a month or so ago when my father was visiting Connecticut and I got so many requests for the recipe! I had never even thought to share it. Isn’t it so funny how something can be so ingrained in your repertoire that you forget everyone else doesn’t make it all the time too? Ha!
I also wanted to note that when I make this, I substitute unsweetened coconut cream for the heavy cream since I am cow dairy-free—but the real cream is the OG version, and how it’s meant to be served. The olives in this recipe are very specific—a black “Moroccan” olive that has a really special curing process that renders it briny and a little salty. I found the olives easily at Whole Foods but you may need to go to a specialty store or order online!
Ingredients…
(Serves 4)
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 16 oz. Fusilli
- 5 cloves Garlic, sliced
- 1 cup Moroccan Black Olives, pits removed and chopped
- 8 oz. Sun-Dried Tomatoes, oil drained and chopped
- ¾ cup Heavy Cream, (or Unsweetened Coconut Cream)
- ½ cup Pasta Water (from the pot), reserved for thinning the sauce
- ¼ cup Italian Parsley, chopped
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
Step 1
Cook
Begin by putting a big pot of pasta water on the boil. I always salt my pasta water with about 2 tbsp of kosher salt!
Step 2
Sauté
Next, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, and sauté until starting to turn golden, around 3-4 minutes. Add the olives and sun-dried tomatoes, and stir to combine. Sauté, stirring every now and then, until the olives and tomatoes become fragrant and start to break down. This will take about 5 minutes. Now turn the heat down a bit, and keep cooking the mixture down gently. When you’re a minute or two away from the pasta being cooked al dente, stir your cream into the tomato and olive mixture. Mix well, and turn the heat back up to medium. Get it to a simmer, and keep stirring. Before draining your pasta, reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. If your sauce needs to be thinned a little, add it into the sauce 1 tbsp at a time. (I usually add about 1-2 tbsp.) Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
Step 3
Drain
Drain your pasta, and add it to the pan with the sauce. Stir well to coat the pasta.
Step 4
Enjoy
Top with the chopped parsley and grated parmesan cheese, if you’d like. Enjoy!
Creamy Olive Pasta
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 16 oz. Fusilli
- 5 cloves Garlic, sliced
- 1 cup Moroccan Black Olives, pits removed and chopped
- 8 oz. Sun-Dried Tomatoes, oil drained and chopped
- ¾ cup Heavy Cream, or Unsweetened Coconut Cream
- ½ cup Pasta Water, reserved for thinning the sauce
- ¼ cup Italian Parsley, chopped
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Begin by putting a big pot of pasta water on the boil. I always salt my pasta water with about 2 tbsp of kosher salt!
- Next, heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, and sauté until starting to turn golden, around 3-4 minutes. Add the olives and sun-dried tomatoes, and stir to combine. Sauté, stirring every now and then, until the olives and tomatoes become fragrant and start to break down. This will take about 5 minutes. Now turn the heat down a bit, and keep cooking the mixture down gently. When you're a minute or two away from the pasta being cooked al dente, stir your cream in to the tomato and olive mixture. Mix well, and turn the heat back up to medium. Get it to a simmer, and keep stirring. Before draining your pasta, reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. If your sauce needs to be thinned a little, add it in to the sauce 1 tbsp at a time. (I usually add about 1-2 tbsp.) Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
- Drain your pasta, and add it to the pan with the sauce. Stir well to coat the pasta.
- Top with the chopped parsley and grated parmesan cheese, if you'd like. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Photographs by Julia Dags | Happily Eva After, Inc. © 2021 All Rights Reserved
Sounds so yummy!! Would kalamata olives work? I love those and notnsure if I can find the Moroccan ones. Thanks!
It wouldn’t be the same with kalamata, but you can find the other ones on amazon!
Thank you!!!
This sounds amazing and some of your other pasta recipes have long been in our family rotation. Can’t wait to give this one a spin! Not that it would prevent me from making this, but is the caloric info guide correct? It seems really high per serving for the required ingredients – just wondering?
Hi Kristin! I’m not sure if the widget we use for recipes is 100% correct or not, but it is a cream-based pasta so it’s definitely not a lite option. It is delish though! xx
I bet goat cheese would be a good sub for real cream too. Yum, can’t wait to try it! I love the black oil cured olives and have used them in other recipes too.
Made this tonight and it was a big hit! Found the olives at Whole Foods, like you said. They are delicious! I ended up making it with half and half instead of cream, because that’s what I had, and it worked great. My 5yr old loooooves olives and pasta so this was a dream dinner for her! Thanks for sharing!
Amazing! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it!
I almost never leave comments but I made an exception for this recipe. It is crazy, delicious! Thank you for sharing it!