Perfect Pasta Caprese

In theory, Pasta Caprese should be a delicious and simple dish.  You take the beloved, classic Italian trio (fresh tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella), toss it with some al dente pasta, add some olive oil, and voila--heaven in a dish, right?  More often than not, this deceptively simple combination turns out all wrong--too wet from the tomato innards, or too greasy from the olive oil, or simply too bland, with no zing or unifying element to highlight the main flavors.

A few years ago, I saw a recipe in the New York Times Sunday Magazine called "Pamela Sherrid's Summer Pasta."   It uses the core caprese ingredients and involves an easy-to-do but precise method that elevates the three caprese flavors and melds them with the pasta.  These are the key aims, of course, of a Pasta Caprese.  Sherrid's recipe is fairly good as is, but I adapted its principles and tweaked a few things to make what I call Perfect Pasta Caprese--it's waaaay better than good.  I've been making it this way ever since.  This dish one of the best ways to use perfectly ripe, sweet, tangy tomatoes near the end of summer.

According to Sherrid's method, you begin by basically making your own infused olive oil, using torn basil and minced garlic.  You can set this up in the morning, cover the bowl, and let it sit all day (how easy is that?)  A few hours before dinner, you add tomatoes to the mix, and let it sit some more.  Then when you're ready to eat, you cook and drain the pasta and dump it over the infused oil.  Now here's the part of Sherrid's method I'm not so keen on--she claims that if you place cubes of mozzarella on top of the hot pasta and gently toss the pasta with just the cheese before incorporating the olive oil-tomato-herb mixture at the bottom of the bowl, the mozzarella will coat the pasta "with a buttery veil of fat."  It sounds delicious, no?  The problem is that every time I've attempted this, the mozzarella simply melts into gooey blobs that end up clumping together in an unattractive stringy mess, without contributing much in terms of a "buttery veil" of flavor.  So I've reinvented this aspect of the method.  If you incorporate the cheese my way--after a brief stint in the freezer--the cheese should retain its own shape and not get all globby and stringy all over the rest of the dish.  I've also added actual butter to contribute a hint of richness, and I tweaked some of the other ingredients, adding lemon zest and parsley for some zing in the infused oil.  I really hope you'll enjoy the ease and tastiness of this simple summer dish as much as I do.

--K, who truly can't get enough of these tomatoes

Look how gorgeous and perfect these tomatoes are! This is totally key to rocking this dish--it's all about the tomatoes. Basil, garlic, cheese--they're supporting players here.

Perfect Pasta Caprese (adapted from Pamela Sherrid's Summer Pasta)
Serves about 6; good luck trying to save any leftovers

*note: the tomatoes must be awesome--from your own garden, the local farmer's market, community garden, or another reliable source.  They are one of the key flavors and the dish just won't sail on mushy or underripe tomatoes.

5 large cloves garlic, finely minced
3/4 cup of Italian extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped fresh basil, from about 20-25 large basil leaves
1/2 cup chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp. lemon zest
3 cups mixed heirloom cherry and/or grape tomatoes, halved, from about 2 pints*
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
16 oz. dried penne rigate, rotini, or rigatoni
2 T. unsalted butter
12-16 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and lightly salted
Crusty bread for soaking up remaining juices
Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for passing

Place the first five ingredients at the bottom of an extra-large mixing bowl.  Swish around with a fork and then cover with plastic wrap.  Let this sit on the counter all day.

About 2 1/2 hours before you want to eat, wash and halve the tomatoes and add them to the bowl.  Swish around the bowl again so everything is mixed together, cover, and let sit.

When it's time to eat, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook until al dente--firm not mushy.  While you're waiting for the water to boil, cut the mozzarella into 1/2 cubes, and place them in the freezer until the pasta is cooked and drained (no more than 20 minutes or so).

Drain the pasta and pour it into the bowl on top of the tomato-herb-garlic-oil mixture.  Without mixing in the tomato mixture just yet, add the butter to the top of the pasta and toss so it's lightly coated.  Then, add the mozzarella from the freezer, stir up everything from the bottom, and evenly distribute the tomato mixture and cheese throughout the pasta.  Season with salt, pepper, and add an additional drizzle of olive oil to finish the dish.  This is best served at room temperature; eating it slightly warm or cold is good too.  Serve with bread and pass cheese alongside. 

See how the cheese isn't gloopy and taking over the dish here?  Every component plays its part to help the tomatoes shine.

 Simple, gorgeous, delicious.  Friendly foodie fare for sure.