Pesto Caprese Pasta

They weren't kidding, this week has been crazy busy. Between interning at a local high school all day and then immediately going to my evening classes, I'm pulling 12 hour days! It's no wonder I'm already sick, and, unfortunately, I passed it along to the husband. So tonight for dinner, I wanted something fresh, simple, and easy on sore throat. I scoured the kitchen and this is what I came up with:

Since pasta is my typical go-to lazy dinner, and since I've been meaning to make a caprese salad with my poor, neglected basil plant, I decided to switch it up and combine them. 

First, I made the "salad" portion, so that it could marinate in the balsamic vinegar as long as possible. I halved the cherry tomatoes and the mozzarella balls, and removed the stems from the basil. I didn't count, but I probably had 20-30 large basil leaves. I tossed it all into a bowl of about 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar mixed with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

 Occasionally, I would stir up the salad while I cooked the pasta, to make sure it marinated evenly. You could skip this if you use a flatter dish. Add more balsamic if there isn't enough to go around. Now cook your pasta. I went with whole wheat rotini, but anything works. I'm in the habit of always cooking half the pasta box at a time for just my husband and I, so that there are some leftovers for lunches, so this recipes is based on that amount of pasta. Just double it for a full box.

 If you are using prepared pesto, take it out of the fridge at least 10 minutes early, so it can warm up and mix together again. Someday, I will make fresh pesto with my fresh basil, but today is not that day.

Drain the pasta and add the salad mixture. Be sure to strain out the excess vinegar first; I didn't and it made it a little soupy and brown, and the vinegar overpowered the pesto flavor. Mix it together while the pasta is hot, then add about 1/2 cup of pesto and stir to coat everything. Add more pesto if desired. Again, this is for half of a typical box of pasta, so alter the measurements to your preferences.

Ta-da! Yellow bowls were not my best choice for this photo, but there it is.

Pesto Caprese Pasta

*serves 3-4

6 oz Pasta

6 oz Mozzarella, preferably cherry sized, halved.

1 pint Cherry Tomatoes, halved

20-30 large basil leaves

2T Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 C Pesto

Kosher Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper to taste

In a medium bowl, mix vinegar, salt, and pepper with the tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Set aside.

Set out the pesto to warm. Prepare pasta as directed, then drain.

Drain the vinegar from the salad, then mix with the pasta. Stir in the pesto, and serve warm.


Enjoy! - A