Caprese Pasta Salad:
A simple Caprese pasta salad with a twist. Cook cherry tomatoes with olive oil for a few minutes and they create their own pasta sauce.
Caprese salads might be ubiquitous this time of year, but for good reason. You really can’t go wrong with any combination of mozzarella, basil and ripe, peak-season tomatoes. Pasta just plays a supporting role in this recipe. The idea for cooking the cherry tomatoes comes from Tom Colicchio’s recipe for squid with burst cherry tomatoes in Food & Wine’s August issue. Briefly cooking the tomatoes on the stove makes their bright flavor sing and releases some juices that combine with the olive oil to turn into a light pasta sauce. Dinner is ready in twenty minutes.
- 6 Ounces Whole Grain Fusilli or Rotini pasta
- 1/3 Cup Ekin Olive Oil
- 2 Pints Cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 8 Ounces Baby Mozzarella balls
- Several Sprigs of Fresh Basil
- 2 Teaspoon vinegar To taste
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain and return the pasta to the pot.
- While the pasta is cooking, warm the olive oil in a large, non-reactive, heavy-bottomed pot or pan over medium heat. Add the tomatoes and ½ teaspoon sea salt. Cover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the tomatoes have started to burst out of their skins and the olive oil has a light red hue (about 5 to 8 minutes). Toss the tomatoes and their sauce with the cooked pasta. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes while you slice the mini mozzarella balls in half (if you’re using a large mozzarella ball, tear it into little pieces) and chop the basil into short little strips.
- Toss the mozzarella balls and basil into the pasta. Add the vinegar and salt to taste, and serve. This salad will keep well in the refrigerator for a few days. Leftovers are great chilled or at room temperature. You can also reheat the pasta if you don’t mind the mozzarella melting (yum).
MAKE IT GLUTEN FREE: Use your favorite gluten-free noodles.
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: An enameled cast iron Dutch oven is the perfect cooking pot for the cherry tomatoes (it’s also great for cooking pasta and soups/stews, and it will last forever).
