Equipment
Ingredients
Vegetables and Pasta
- 400 g short pasta
- 2 red bell pepper, diced
- 150 g frozen green peas
Feta-Yogurt Sauce
- 150 g feta cheese, crumbled
- 200 g strained yogurt
- 1 garlic, minced
- 30 ml olive oil
- 15 ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Garnish and Seasoning
- 10 g fresh mint, chopped
- kosher salt
- black pepper, freshly cracked
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 637 kcal
- Protein
- 26 g
- Carbohydrates
- 89 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fiber
- 7 g
- Sugar
- 10 g
- Sodium
- 593 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 8 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 8 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 2 g
- Cholesterol
- 40 mg
- Potassium
- 553 mg
- Calcium
- 277 mg
- Iron
- 2.8 mg
- Magnesium
- 87 mg
- Phosphorus
- 437 mg
- Zinc
- 3.3 mg
- Vitamin A
- 209 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 105 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.1 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 2.5 mg
- Vitamin K
- 20 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.6 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 1.0 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.30 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.63 mg
- Niacin
- 3.6 mg
- Folate
- 90 mcg
- Water
- 177 g
Sources: USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat your oven to 220°C/425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Toss the diced red bell peppers with 15ml of olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Spread them evenly on the prepared baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes until softened and slightly charred at the edges.
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil at 100°C/212°F. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions, typically about 10 minutes, until al dente.
Stir the frozen peas directly into the boiling pasta water during the final 2 minutes of the cooking time to blanch them.
Process the crumbled feta, strained yogurt, minced garlic, lemon juice, and the remaining 15ml of olive oil in a food processor until completely smooth and creamy.
Drain the pasta and peas through a colander, ensuring you reserve at least 50ml of the starchy pasta cooking water in a separate cup.
Combine the hot, drained pasta, peas, and roasted bell peppers with the feta-yogurt sauce in a large off-heat mixing bowl. Toss vigorously, adding the reserved pasta water a few drops at a time until a glossy sauce evenly coats the noodles.
Top the finished dish with freshly chopped mint and a final crack of black pepper before serving immediately.
Chef's Notes
- Using full-fat yogurt is crucial here. Low-fat or fat-free yogurt lacks the stabilizing lipids required to form a creamy, heat-resistant emulsion and will almost certainly split when it meets the hot pasta.
- Feta brands vary wildly in their salt content. Always taste your whipped feta base before adding any additional salt to the final dish.
- The starchy pasta water acts as a structural binder. By agitating the pasta with the sauce and the starchy water, you create a cohesive glaze rather than a loose dressing.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store in an airtight container. Sauce will thicken significantly upon chilling.
Reheating: Warm gently over very low heat on the stove, stirring frequently, adding a splash of water to loosen. High heat will cause the yogurt to split.
Troubleshooting
Yogurt sauce splits or curdles into a grainy texture
Cause: Sauce was exposed to direct heat or the pasta water added was too rapidly boiling, causing dairy proteins to separate
Fix: Cannot be fully fixed, but stirring in a splash of cold heavy cream while whisking vigorously may partially restore the emulsion
Prevention: Always toss the yogurt sauce with the pasta entirely off the heat in a separate mixing bowl, never in the hot cooking pot
Cultural Context
This recipe draws heavily from traditional Aegean and Anatolian meze culture. The sauce mirrors the foundational flavor profile of Turkish haydari and Greek tirokafteri, adapting these creamy, tangy dips into an emulsified pasta coating. The use of robust herbs and charred sweet peppers provides a familiar Mediterranean balance of sweet, acidic, and savory notes.
