Pasta Caprese

Summertime is when I try new recipes. I work shorter hours, and am generally home by 1:30 or 2:00 in the afternoon. So I have plenty of leisure time to experiment with recipes.

Tonight is the last night that we will have Ilona, our guest from the Czech Republic, and I wanted to fix something that I thought she had not had before.

From the internet I found this pasta recipe. It says that it serves six. I want you to know that I made exactly HALF of the recipe. Three of us had generous portions and there are two lunch-size portions remaining. It was delicious and pretty. I didn't get a picture after it was assembled, but did get a photo of the main ingredients. Try it, you'll like it!

1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 Cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. real butter
1 Cup finely chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
1/4 cup finely chopped garlic
4 cups cherry tomatoes sliced in halves
1 pound fresh pasta (receipe recommends bowties; I used angel hair and would use bowties next time)
1 bag of baby spinach (optional)
1/2 Cup freshly grated Romano cheese
3/4 Cup chopped fresh basil

Cube the mozzarella, add sea salt and set aside. Heat oil and butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When butter melts, lower the temperature to medium-low, add onion and garlic and cook slowly until the onion is tender, about 10 minutes. Add sliced tomatoes and cook 5 minutes. Cook and drain the pasta. Mix together pasta, tomato and onion mixture, salted mozzarella, 1/4 Cup of the Romano cheese, and 1/2 Cup of fresh basil. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with remainder of Romano and fresh basil. Serve hot and enjoy!

I made it as above with the spinach. Recipe also suggests possible addition of sauteed chicken or black olives. I'm thinking a few toasted pine nuts wouldn't hurt either.

Yum yum.


Comments

floribunda said…
sounds yummy! Caprese salad is one of my summer favorites: great tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil -- I could eat it every day!
Karrin Hurd said…
Looks delicious, and will have to try it! Thanks for sharing!
Pat Deck said…
My father used to make something like this -- he's be 98 now, were he still alive, and had a prolific garden. No real recipe, just a method. No cooking, other than the pasta. Fresh tomatoes (diced), fresh basil, some fresh oregano, thinly sliced scallions/green onions, good olive oil, some balsamic or some red wine vinegar, S & P to taste. A few red pepper flakes if your taste runs that way. It ends up looking almost like an Italian riff on salsa. Let it sit at room temp for a couple of hours at least, then serve over warm pasta, with a liberal grating of fresh parm. He'd make a bunch & keep it in the fridge -- dinner/lunch for days! He made a mean gazpacho as well. Gotta love tomato time "near Philadelphia".
Tanya said…
Sounds delicious! I wonder how I could rearrange it to fit Japanese ingredients. I can get the tomaotes, mozarella and olive oil. Even bow tie pasta. But no basil and no romano...
(Would you believe I've used tofu in Italian recipes calling for ricotta cheese!)