Caprese Pasta

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes. The classic Caprese salad ingredients rolled into a pasta dish. The key to this dish is to cook the tomatoes to where they're just start breaking down creating a sauce and heating the mozzarella where it's really soft, but not melted.  

Ingredients:
1 pound Barilla spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 - 4 very rough chopped garlic
2 cups cherry tomatoes sliced in half
2 cups fresh mini mozzarella balls sliced in half
1 cup chopped basil
Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Take a large stock pot and fill with water. Add 2 tablespoons salt and bring to boil. Cook the spaghetti according to directions, which is usually 9 - 10 minutes to al dente, which is firm to the bite. Drain the pasta reserving 1 cup of pasta water. 

 

Take your 12" sauté pan and heat to medium. Add the olive oil and garlic. Toss until the garlic has softened. Add the tomatoes and cook a few minutes until the tomatoes just start to wilt and break down.

 

Add the spaghetti to the sauté pan and toss. Add the basil reserving enough for garnish. Add the mozzarella and toss for a minute or two until the mozzarella softens. Add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water toss. Check for proper salt and pepper and you're done.

 

To serve, place a portion of spaghetti on a serving plate. Top the pasta with the reserved chopped basil, drizzle of olive oil and a grind of salt and pepper.