Last Christmas, my hubby gave me a book of classic Italian recipes as a stocking stuffer. In it there are some quintessential meat-free Italian recipes included. I started flipping through it yesterday after having dreams that he and I were on a vacation in Italy (I think that’s a sign that we should really go there soon!), and a recipe for pasta caprese caught my eye.
I’ve made caprese in many forms and fashions — as the classic salad, a chopped heirloom salad, a panini, risotto dish, and yes, as a pasta meal. I love the simplicity of it: some good olive oil, tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil, salt, pepper, and sometimes balsamic vinegar. It never fails as a great combo, especially in warm weather. But this book had a tip noted in there that I’ve never done before: freezing the mozzarella for just about 10 minutes so that it doesn’t melt (or as they say, turn into bubble gum) when you mix it in with the hot pasta. I was curious about this trick, and I simply had to give it a try.
I followed their recipe and only made one exception: I added balsamic vinegar to the tomato mixture for an extra kick. I felt that wine was a necessity to this meal, so I paired a glass of California Riesling with dinner to compliment the dish.
Perfecting Pasta Caprese
Ingredients
- 1 lb penne or other short shaped pasta
- 1/4 cup high quality extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 small lemon
- 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 small shallot minced
- 4 medium vine ripe tomatoes cored, seeded, and diced
- 12 oz fresh mozzarella cheese cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, garlic, shallot, 1/2 TSP salt, and 1/2 TSP pepper together in a large bowl. Add tomatoes and toss to combine. Set aside and let tomatoes marinade.
- Cook pasta according to directions.
- Meanwhile, places mozzarella cubes on a plate and put in the freeze for about 10 minutes, or until slightly firm.
- Add pasta and mozzarella cubes to tomato mixture, tossing to combine. Stir in basil and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Ali says
I love caprese dishes too! Thanks for sharing the freezing the cheese trick.
foodielovesfitness says
SO YUMMY right! Thank you for reading 🙂
Tiffany says
Just made this for lunch using all the tomatoes and basil from our garden. It was so good and such a perfect summer recipe to eat in this heat! 🙂
foodielovesfitness says
So happy to hear that you made this & loved it! Pasta caprese is one of my classic favorites.