Sarah: Caprese Pasta

Caprese Pasta is a perfect summer-fall dinner. It is best with fresh tomatoes (locally grown, as opposed to store bought). This recipe is very easy to make, and only takes as long to make as it does for the pasta to cook.

My recipe will feed 4 people, and the leftovers are even better than the first time around.

Ingredients:

1 box pasta (any type you choose; I use either penne or linguini)
3 large tomatoes, chopped into 1" chunks
1 container of fresh mozzarella (I use the small balls; if you use the large ball, you'll have to cut it up into eatable size pieces)
Fresh basil, washed and dried, torn into pieces
4 tbsp. olive oil (you may want to add more later)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
red pepper flakes (optional)

To Prepare

1. Begin by boiling enough water to make the pasta. While this is heating up, chop the tomatoes, mozzarella and basil and put in a large bowl. Add salt, pepper and olive oil and mix to coat.

2. Set this aside, cook noodles to your preferred tenderness. Drain noodles, and add them to the tomato/cheese/basil bowl. Toss mixture until it is mixed well.

3. I serve this warm, and add red pepper flakes to my individual bowl (some people don't like spice, but I like the flakes because it adds spice w/o changing the flavor). A friend of mine eats the leftovers cold, out of the fridge. I like the melted mozzarella and warm tomatoes, myself.