Pasta Caprese (Two Ways)

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Try this delicious, fresh Pasta Caprese made with Caprese Salad ingredients - tomatoes, mozzarella & basil. Make it in hot or cold version!

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 429kcal

Author: Svi

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add salt, about 1 tablespoon for 3 quarts (3 liters) of water.
Once water is boiling drop pasta, give a quick stir and let cook until ‘al dente’ which literally means “to the tooth”. Pasta cooked 'al dente' might feel slightly undercooked for anyone who is used to eat well-cooked or even overcooked pasta but in really it just has a slight bite to it.
And this is exactly how we want to cook pasta for this pasta salad.
9 ounces short pasta like bowties
While pasta is cooking slice cherry tomatoes in half and drain mozzarella cheese from excess liquid. Mozzarella bites should about the size of cherry tomato halves. So if you’re using large mozzarella balls cut it in cubes the size of the cherry tomato.
Prepare basil sauce. Wash and pat dry basil leaves. They should be completely dry to prevent the sauce from turning brown. Set a few leaves aside for garnishing.
Using a hand-held blender or food processor pulse basil leaves with extra virgin olive oil and a few pinches of salt until you get a smooth paste.
10 large fresh basil leaves, ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil, Pinch of salt
Once pasta is ready, drain it and quickly rinse it with cold water. Place in a large bowl with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to prevent it from sticking as it cools. Let cool completely.
Add basil sauce and mix well. Lastly add cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and remaining basil leaves torn by hand. Give a gentle toss and serve.

Cook pasta in salt boiling water until almost done ('al dente' - with a light bite to it). Make sure to preserve a ladle of hot pasta cooking liquid.
In the meantime add a generous slash of extra virgin olive oil in pan, then add cherry tomato halves and half of the basil leaves torn with your hands.
In hot Caprese version also add a garlic clove or two crushed with a flat knife (optional). Let roast together with tomatoes until tomatoes are lightly browned. Discard garlic.
Once pasta is ready add it to the pan with tomatoes and a splash of pasta cooking liquid. Stir well, then add mozzarella. Toss quickly and turn the heat off. Let pasta sit for 2 more minutes in a pan to let the mozzarella melt without getting chewy.
Add remaining fresh basil torn in small pieces and serve.

See the Step By Step Pictures for visual walk-through of the recipe.
If you have any leftovers, store them in the fridge for up to 2 days. Then enjoy at room temperature or make Caprese Pasta Bake.
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