Sam's Greek Macaroni and Cheese

[caption id="attachment_269" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Sam's Greek Macaroni and Cheese"] [/caption] This is my original Greek Mac & Cheese recipe, and I usually make this dish with rigatoni pasta (I call it Sam's Greek Rigatoni), but for the purposes of this "Mac'n Cheese Off" I have opted to submit a version using the tubetti style of short pasta which we call "Makaronia" in Greek (for more on the Greek origin and use of the term "makaronia" in Greece click here) . This is a very simple recipe and can be whipped up in the time it takes to boil the pasta, i.e. usually never more than 15 minutes or so.  You will be amazed by just how tasty this Mac'n Cheese is, so go ahead and try it! (This recipe was originally published on my own blog Greek Food Recipes and Reflections on March 11, 2008) Recipe:

• ½ lb. Rigatoni/Tubetti (or other) pasta
• ½ lb. Greek Feta cheese
• 8-10 Greek sun-dried tomatoes (stored in oil)
• ¾ cup Kalamata black olives
• 1/3 cup Greek extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp. Greek oregano
• Fresh-ground black pepper

1. Bring salted water to a boil and put pasta on to cook (cooking time will vary depending on the noodle but should be around 12-15 minutes). 2. Pit and chop the Kalamata olives into pieces (not too small). Also, chop the sun-dried tomatoes into ribbons, then cut the feta cheese into small cubes. 3. Prepare and heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a large sauté pan. 4. Drain the pasta well once it has cooked and add it to the heated olive oil in the sauté pan, then add the feta cheese cubes, chopped black olives, and ribboned sun-dried tomatoes and heat through by tossing repeatedly for a couple minutes until you see the cheese just starting to melt. Season with oregano and ground black pepper, give it a couple more tosses in the pan and serve hot. Serves 2-4. Kali Orexi! (Bon Appetit) Sam Sotiropoulos Greek Gourmand http://www.greekgourmand.com Copyright © 2008, Sam Sotiropoulos. All Rights Reserved.