Easy Pork Recipe - Pork Pasta With Olives

It also has a wonderful Italian feel to it. Like a lot of penne pasta recipes, the combination of all the different flavours like olives and basil give it a real Mediterranean feel.

This easy pork recipe will feed two people.

What you'll need is:

• 180 grams (6 ounces) pasta. Penne pasta is a good match for this dish, but you can have whatever you prefer
• 250 grams (8 ounces) lean pork. If you can get it already cut into strips, great.
• 1 small Spanish onion (they're the purple-coloured ones)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 200 grams (7 ounces) tinned chopped tomatoes
• A couple of stalks of fresh basil
• Black olives, whole or sliced is fine
• Some parmesan cheese. I prefer grated, but shredded is fine.
• Olive oil (to keep it Italian!)

• A large saucepan
• A medium sized frypan
• A colander
• A garlic crusher
• A wooden spoon
• A serving spoon
• A sharp kitchen knife
• A couple of small bowls
• Some paper towel
• A stovetop

If the pork isn't already cut into strips, then slice it into strips about 1cm (½ inch) wide. Peel the onion, and then cut once through the middle. Then take each half and slice thinly, then place into a separate bowl. Peel and crush the garlic into the bowl with the onion. Open the tin of tomatoes so it's ready to go.

Put as many olives as you like (I like quite a few – that's why I call this Pork Pasta With Olives!) into a small bowl. Take your basil stalks and rinse them with cold tap water. Remove the leaves and place them in the bowl with the olives. I normally keep the leaves whole as it adds a little colour to the dish. However, for large leaves you can tear them in half.

Fill your saucepan with water, and add a couple of tablespoons of salt. Stir the salt until it's completely dissolved (this stops the pasta sticking together). Bring the water to boil and then add your pasta. Cook for however long the packaging recommends.

While the pasta is cooking, add a small amount of olive oil to your frypan and heat to a medium-high heat.

When the oil is heated up, add the pork strips and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. They should end up slightly browned and firm. Remove the pork from the pan, and place on some paper towel.

Now add the garlic, onion and tinned tomatoes to the pan. Stir continuously until the tomato juices start bubbling a little, and it all thickens up. Then turn the heat down to low.

Finally, return the pork to the frypan and add the olives and basil leaves. Mix everything together well. You'll notice the basil leaves may shrink but that's fine.

If the pasta is ready, drain it in the colander. When it's fully drained, add the pasta to the frypan. Remove the frypan from the heat, and gently mix the pasta, meat and sauce together until it's nice and even, and the pasta is well coated.

Grab your serving spoon, and serve up into pasta bowls, and sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top. Then, enjoy your little taste of Italy!

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