Friday, May 23, 2008

Giada's Pasta alla Caprese

Inspiration:
Modified from Giada's "Fusilli alla Caprese" recipe.

Ingredients:
  • 10 ounces whole-wheat farfalle pasta
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves, torn (do not use dried basil)
  • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, diced (about 1 1/4 cups)

Instructions:
  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta into a large bowl and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
  2. In a medium skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. As the tomatoes cook and soften, smash them with a potato masher or a fork. Continue to cook until the tomatoes make a chunky style sauce, about 4 minutes. Transfer the tomato sauce to the bowl with the pasta. Toss to combine. Add the basil leaves and mozzarella. Stir to combine. If needed, add the reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time, until the pasta is moist. Serve.


Notes:
This was a great fresh-tasting recipe. It was relatively quick to make, except for quartering the tomatoes. If you're in a huge rush, you could probably substitute the fresh tomatoes with drained canned tomatoes, but it would lose a bit of "freshness."


Tim's Rating: 8/10
Liz's Rating: 8/10

4 comments:

What's Cookin Chicago said...

Can I just say how amazing your pictures look?! Everything you've made looks amazing and I have no doubt it just tastes amazing too. I'm such a fan of caprese salad and it's nice to see this combo paired with pastas too. Kudos!

Rachel said...

Your pictures are gorgeous! And this pasta sounds yummyl. Perfect for summer! (Or anytime, really!)

Erin said...

That looks so fresh tasting. I would do some grilled chicken with it for a perfect summer meal. Sounds delicious!

Anonymous said...

just because you make a giada recipe you think we all want to know your opinion of it? why don't you try contributing something instead of just copying what other people do and then posting it in your blog????