Cherry Tomato And Fresh Mozzarella Pasta
Delicious cherry tomato pasta with fresh mozzarella is the perfect lunch or dinner pasta dish any day of the week and takes less than 15 minutes to prepare.
Servings 2 portions
Ingredients
- 250 g (2 cups) cherry tomatoes - note 1
- 50 g (¼ cups) butter
- 50 g (¼ cups) olive oil - extra virgin
- 10 g (¾ tablespoon) garlic - chopped or minced
- 4 g (1 teaspoon) salt
- 4 g (1 teaspoon) sugar - note 2
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) pasta - dried or 200g fresh pasta (note 3)
- 125 g (4 ½ oz) mozzarella - soft in brine or water (note 4)
- 6 g (1 tablespoon) parsley - flat-leaf roughly chopped (note 5)
Instructions
- Prep & Cook Tomatoes: - Heat olive oil and butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add halved and whole cherry tomatoes, chopped garlic, and salt. Cook gently until the tomatoes burst and the garlic becomes soft and fragrant. This takes bout 8–10 minutes on a gentle simmer.
- Season the sauce: Once the cherry tomatoes have burst and cooked out, you end up with something looking like a rustic sauce. Season with a touch of sugar to rebalance, because tomatoes lose their sweetness when cooked.
- Boil and add pasta: If using fresh pasta, boil for 2 to 3 minutes in salted water, if using store-bought, then boil according to the package instructions or until al dente with a slight bite. Drain and reserve some pasta water. Add the pasta to the cherry tomato sauce as well as a touch of cooking water to make sure it's not dry and follow up with optional, yet recommended, chopped fresh parsley.
- Serve: Give the pasta a good toss to coat in the sauce. Place into a pasta bowl and break the fresh mozzarella into bite-size chunks, adding it to the top of the pasta randomly. Finish with a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil and freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
- If you can get sweet organic cherry tomatoes from the greengrocer or farmer's market, they work best. Otherwise, choose a bright red firm plum cherry tomato from the supermarket. If you can't find good cherry tomatoes, grate fresh larger tomatoes to make the sauce.
- When tomatoes cook, they lose their natural sweetness and become more sour. It's important to rebalance with sugar.
- Flat pasta shapes work best. You can use homemade pasta or get fettuccine, pappardelle or tagliatelle ready-made.
- Use fresh cow's milk or buffalo mozzarella sold in ball shapes in brine or water. The rubbery pizza-style mozzarella will not work.
- Parsley is optional but highly recommended. Alternatively, use fresh basil or oregano.
Nutrition
Serving: 350g Calories: 649kcal Carbohydrates: 49g Protein: 23g Fat: 41g Saturated Fat: 12g Cholesterol: 52mg Sodium: 1214mg Potassium: 513mg Fiber: 3g Sugar: 8g Vitamin A: 1497IU Vitamin C: 37mg Calcium: 385mg Iron: 2mg
Keywords:cherry tomato pasta, tomato mozzarella pasta
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