I have been cooking Caprese pasta, Caprese pasta salad, Caprese salad, and Caprese sandwiches for as long as I can remember. If Caprese is in the name, we’ll eat it! Here’s my latest recipe, a Caprese pasta dish using cherry tomatoes from our garden.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Grab as many red, ripe cherry tomatoes from your garden as possible.
Remove any stems, put in a colander, and rinse. Dry.
Put the tomatoes in a bowl. Add a splash of your favorite olive oil. We love Olive Oil Etcetera’s Fruity Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Add some freshly ground pepper and sea salt. Stir.
Spread out the tomatoes on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when they all have bursted. Set aside when done.
When your tomatoes go in the oven, start boiling your pasta water. Add a good amount of sea salt.
Add your favorite pasta to the water and cook as directed on the pasta packaging. We like to use fettuccine for this recipe. Drain pasta when it reaches desired texture.
Add a couple splashes of olive oil to a pan. Peel three garlic cloves and slice thinly. I use a truffle/chocolate shaver to thinly slice my garlic. It’s a trick I learned from Rachael Ray! I slice them right over the pan.
Add salt and pepper. Cook the garlic for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add about 3-4 TB of butter to the pan. When the butter melts, add the pasta and toss to coat. Add additional olive oil, as needed.
Slice 8 oz. of fresh mozzarella cheese. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
Grab some basil leaves from your garden. Rinse, dry, and cut into strips.
Add the roasted cherry tomatoes and basil to the pasta and stir.
Add pasta with basil and tomatoes to your plate/pasta bowl.
Add fresh mozzarella on top. You can add the mozzarella cheese to the pan and stir with the pasta, but I prefer it not to melt.
Top with grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!!
Scott Baldelli Gardening & Design 