Feta, ricotta and lemon pasta with olive breadcrumbs

This recipe combines two types of cheese, black and green olives, lemon, a touch of thyme + a delicious topping in only one pasta dish, which turned out fantastic; I guess I should rename it and call it “Steven Soderbergh pasta” – after all, who besides him can gather so many stars in one single movie? I can only think of the late Altman.

Feta, ricotta and lemon pasta with olive breadcrumbs
adapted from the always delicious Australian Gourmet Traveller

Pasta:
200g penne
½ onion, finely chopped
100g ricotta
100g feta cheese, crumbled
60g black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
60g green olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon
½ tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive breadcrumbs:
50g fresh breadcrumbs
15g black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
15g green olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
finely grated zest of ½ lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of the cooking water. Return pasta to the saucepan with reserved water.
While pasta is cooking, combine olive oil, onion and garlic in a saucepan over medium-high heat and sauté until very tender and starting to caramelize. Transfer to a large bowl and cool slightly. Add the ricotta, feta, olives, lemon zest and juice and thyme and mix. Season to taste. Add the pasta and mix well. Transfer to a lightly oiled 1 quarter (1 liter) capacity baking dish.
Make the olive breadcrumbs: combine the breadcrumbs, the olives, the olive oil and the lemon zest in a small bowl. Season to taste. Spread evenly over the pasta mixture and bake until bubbling and golden (15-20 minutes). Serve hot.

Serves 2