Caprese Pasta

I hope everyone had a great July 4th holiday. I spent a lovely and relaxing weekend at my Grandma's house back home in Arkansas full of sun, the pool, great food, and watching Frazier (the dog) run around in the country. Why can't all holidays be in the summer? Or why can't I live somewhere where it felt like summer on all the holidays? Ah well. 


So tonight I made a caprese pasta, inspired by the more common caprese salad. If you have never had a caprese salad before, you don't know what you're missing. I had one for the first time in Italy and it was life-changing. OK, maybe not life-changing, but it was freakin' awesome. It's basically tomato slices, slices of fresh mozzarella, and basil drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a little salt. The key here is in season, super good quality ingredients. This should only be made in the summer when you have access to garden tomatoes and basil. Otherwise, you are wasting your time. That goes for this pasta as well. 


Ingredients:

• 1 package Penne pasta (I use the whole-grain version)
• 5-6 ripe, garden fresh tomatoes on the small side, quartered or cut smaller if you prefer
• about 10-12 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped but left fairly large
• fresh mozzarella, chopped or broken into small pieces, amount depends on how much cheese you like
• 5-6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 or more tbsp balsamic vinegar 
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Don't forget to add salt to the cooking water. Save a tiny bit of the cooking water before draining. 


When the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a pan over med-low heat. Add the garlic and let cook for just a couple minutes. When the pasta is done, put in into a large serving bowl. Pour the garlic and olive oil over the pasta and add about a fourth cup or less of the cooking water. Now, add the remaining ingredients and toss together. Make sure to taste for salt and add more vinegar if you like. 


Serve with a crusty piece of french bread and dive into a bowl of summer bliss.