With all the delicious tomatoes and basil in season now is a great time for this dish. Homegrown tomatoes or ones from the farmer’s market this dish.
Serves 4 as a main dish
Ingredients
1 lb pasta – a type that will retain the heat, see step 5 below
4 to 5 tomatoes
1 lb fresh mozzarella
1 small bunch fresh basil leaves
4 tbls olive oil
3 to 4 cloves garlic
4 – 6 tbls grated parmesan or romano cheese (I use a blend of both)
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp salt – optional
1. Cut tomatoes and fresh mozzarella into small bite-sized cubes and add to a large mixing bowl. I like to use a ceramic bowl, as this will become the serving bowl also.
2. Thinly slice basil leaves, watch this short video that demonstrates this step.
3. Add cut basil ribbons to pasta. You decide how much you like in this dish.
4. Add garlic, olive oil, pepper, salt (optional) and 3–4 tablespoons parmesan cheese to the bowl. Stir and let marinade.
5. Boil water, and cook pasta according to directions on the pasta package. I used gemelli pasta for this dish. Use a type of pasta that will retain the heat and soak up the sauces from the tomato and olive oil. You can use fusilli, pasta shells, etc.
6. Drain pasta in a collander, do NOT rinse with water, but add quickly to the bowl with the other ingredients, and stir gently. the hot pasta will begin to melt the fresh mozzarella, but it should not melt to the point of the cheese getting stringy. See short video below for this step.
7. Add additional parmesan cheese as garnish on top and serve immediately. The dish can also be served later as a pasta salad at room temperature.
