Cheesy Tomato & Basil Pasta

Pasta Perfection

I have been craving a delicious plate of pasta for a while now. After being unable to satiate this craving with a plate of gnocchi at a cute little Italian place on the Upper West Side, I decided to take matters in my own hands. I wanted something packed with flavor and a bit of cheesiness, and I'm pretty much in love with what I created. I also wanted to make something fast and easy for dinner, and pasta is always happy to fit that role. 


I'm not going to sit here and tell you this recipe is exceptionally healthy, but I will say this recipe will really hit the spot if you're craving a cheesy, filling carb fest that is a lot friendlier to the waistline than mac and cheese or some other cheese-laden baked dish. The combination of sun dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, garlic and fresh basil is outstanding. The mozzarella and parmigiano reggiano melt to lightly coat the pasta. If you wanted, this would be great if you sautéed some slices of asparagus with the garlic and tomato to add some crunch and extra veg. 


Cheesy Tomato & Basil Pasta

• Linguini Pasta (fresh is ideal)
• 1/2 Cup good olive oil
• 1 Cup basil leaves
• 1/2 Cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon fresh cracked pepper 
• 1/2 Teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 Pint cherry tomatoes (mine were larger than normal and amazingly fresh)
• 1 Fresh mozzarella ball (packed in water, or two if they're small)
• 1/2 Cup Parmigiano Reggiano

Start with the best ingredients and you can't go wrong!

Start by putting a large pot of water on to boil. Salt the water generously. 

Blend the following ingredients in a food processor: The sun dried tomatoes, basil, balsamic vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, red pepper, 1 clove garlic. Blend and slowly add most of the olive oil (reserving at least a tablespoon or so). 

This is before it's finished blending, right after I added the sun dried tomatoes. By the time you're done blending it should all be finely chopped and mixed together like a paste. 

Put the pasta on to boil, be sure not to over cook especially if you bought fresh pasta. The italian market on my corner has an amazing selections of pastas made in house and somehow this is the first time I bought it, not sure how I waited this long! I had a very large quantity of pasta, but this recipe would still taste great if you kept everything the same and just used a smaller batch of pasta (I would probably just use less cheese).

Pour the rest of the olive oil into a large pan (large enough to fit all of the pasta eventually) and heat over medium. Add 3 cloves of minced garlic and the pint of tomatoes. You'll want really fresh flavorful tomatoes for this, the best you can find. Sauté the garlic and tomatoes for a few minutes till the tomatoes are soft and a couple burst. Be sure not to burn your garlic.




By now your pasta should be done, drain the pasta but be sure to reserve a cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta to the sauté pan and turn off the heat. Add the sun dried tomato/basil mixture to the pasta and mix together. Cut the mozzarella into small cubes and grate the parmigiano reggiano; add both to the pasta but reserve some parmigiano reggiano for plating. 

Mix everything up, add enough of the reserved pasta water so that it has the right consistency- this will help develop the sauce that coats the pasta. Finish with a 1/2 teaspoon salt and serve warm - the cheese will be melty gooey perfection and it will be hard to resist seconds...enjoy!!