Much like the chickpea salad in July, I feel sheepish posting this. Too easy. Too simple. Yet it’s also too delicious not to share in case anyone out there isn’t making it.
Caprese pasta
The short version is this: chop tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil and toss with hot angle hair pasta. The longer and slightly more accurate version is –
1 – 1 1/2 pounds very ripe and sweet and meaty tomatoes
3 – 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 – 8 ounces fresh mozzarella ball(s)
Stack of basil leaves
Salt
1 pound angel hair pasta
Put a large pot of water on to boil. While that gets boiling, rinse tomatoes clean and pat them dry. Chop the tomatoes and put them in a very large bowl, being sure to include as much of the juices that may have escaped during chopping as possible.
Add olive oil to tomatoes, toss a bit, and let sit.
Drain mozzarella and dice it. You can add it to the tomatoes, if you want it to get a wee bit melty when you add the hot pasta. If I’m making this for myself, I do this. My dashing husband prefers this dish without the mozzarella, however, which is fine. No, really, it’s totally cool. So i leave it out and just add mine on top of my serving, as you see above.
Stack some basil leaves, roll them up, and slice them into thin ribbons. Set aside.
When the water is boiling, add enough salt to make it taste salty, add the pasta and cook until tender to the bite. Drain and quickly add to the tomatoes. Start tossing. Add some basil and toss to combine. Add more olive oil, if it seems at all dry.
Divide among serving bowls and garnish with basil (and mozzarella if you find yourself married to someone who for some insane reason doesn’t want mozzarella in their portion).
I should note that, despite my husband’s mozzarella-induced insanity, I must agree that the dish is perfectly delicious without it. I just really really like cheese. Like a lot. A bit of mozzarella in my tomato basil capellini keeps me from feeling weak or getting the vapors.
Jude | 07-Sep-10 at 7:20 am | Permalink
This such a delicious way to kick-off that first day back after a long holiday weekend! (Truly a last hurrah to summer)
Molly Watson | 07-Sep-10 at 8:06 am | Permalink
Yes, it would be, anyway, any where that has a bit of summer still happening. We have typical gray here in SF, although hope springs eternal each morning that it will burn off to brilliant caprese-pasta-friendly sunshine.
Sam Fromartz | 12-Sep-10 at 4:31 pm | Permalink
YUM! I do the same thing, but add garlic and use about 1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil and let the sauce steep for about 6 hours, it becomes an amalgam of tomato juice, olive oil, garlic, mozz and torn basil. Come to think of it, we haven’t had it this summer yet. Maybe tomorrow!
Molly Watson | 13-Sep-10 at 5:58 am | Permalink
I have no doubt that is delicioso, Sam, but that amount of planning ahead defeats the dinner-in-10-minutes aspect that I so love about this dish. I will make every effort to get it together to plan that out, though. Sounds crazy good.
sarah henry | 30-Sep-10 at 6:26 am | Permalink
We’re Caprese salad crazy over here, so I was delighted to find this recipe — perfect for Friday night supper and a worthy home for those ridiculously delicious dry-farmed tomatoes we have around these parts right now.
Molly Watson | 30-Sep-10 at 7:49 am | Permalink
I made it again recently – precisely to use some of the crazy-delicious tomatoes right now – without the basil or the cheese (because we didn’t have any in the house) and it was still delicious. If you let the tomatoes and garlic and oil and salt sit a bit (as recommended by Sam above) it does make more of a sauce, which is also tasty goodness.