Fast and Easy Penne Pasta Caprese Recipe
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photo: pamela irene for we heart this
Attention fellow pasta lovers: this Penne Pasta Caprese recipe is a keeper and perfect for the warm weather! The only ingredient you have to cook on the stove is the water for the penne! The rest is fresh raw ingredients, so this meatless entree is perfect for a hectic Green Monday.
If you are as fortunate as I am to live close to a market that sells fresh, maybe even organic mozzarella and great extra virgin olive oil; this recipe really shines. Start your search by checking Farmer’s Markets, organic grocers and Italian speciality shops. Of course, it’s especially good when tomatoes come into season (late summer), because there is nothing like naturally sun ripened tomatoes!
Penne Pasta Caprese Salad Recipe
Penne Pasta Caprese
(Adapted from The Food Network Magazine)
Ingredients:
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves (completely crushed, through a press if possible)
• 1 small shallot finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound of penne pasta*
• 10 ripe Roma or Plum tomatoes – diced into ½-inch pieces
• 16 ounces fresh mozzarella – cut into small ½-inch cubes (or look for perlini – small round balls of fresh mozz)
• 1/2 cup freshly chopped basil
• Pecorino Romano cheese (optional)
* Barilla has a “Plus” blend multigrain penne that is actually really good.
Instructions:
1. Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, shallot, salt and pepper together in large bowl.
2. Add the diced tomatoes and gently toss to combine. Set aside.
3. Bring a large pot of water (with a pinch of salt) to a boil. Add pasta and cook until el dente. Drain pasta well, but do not rinse.
4. Add the pasta and mozzarella to the tomato mixture and gently toss. After a couple of “setting” minutes, I stir in the basil, add a dusting of Pecorino Romano cheese and freshly ground pepper and serve immediately.
Makes 8 servings (meaning it feeds four hungry people!)
While I feel this pasta dish is best served warm, it can also be refrigerated for a few hours and served chilled – or room temperature. Finally, for those looking to keep it healthy or with special diet needs, you can always choose a multi grain or gluten-free pasta.
Overall, this slightly adapted Penne Pasta Caprese is super simple to cook and makes a yummy and satisfying meal (round it out with a green salad and crusty bread) – so file this one away for use all summer long!
Enjoy!
Pamela Irene is a we heart this review team member and kitchen guru living with husband David in Orange County, CA. She works in the management office at the ‘happiest place on earth’ – the South Coast Plaza. She can also mix a mean cocktail and is the owner of the largest bath & body collection we’ve ever seen.
@irene –This makes my mouth water. How I long for sun ripened tomatoes! I was wondering if you have ever tried to use anything but fresh tomatoes? (The store tomatoes really are not up to par yet in my local grocery.)
Holly, that’s a valid question. I can’t stress enough that most tomato recipes like this really NEED to have vine rippened tomatoes when made. Just tuck the recipe away until you have them available, it won’t be too long. It will really make your mouth water.
This is one of my favorite summertime recipes @irene. Love to make it with fresh homegrown tomatoes and basil from my garden. Agree that you need the fresh tomatoes for this. The store bought ones just don’t do it justice. YUM! Wishing I could make this now.
@irene – thank you for a recipe that is easy, healthy, and most of all, delicious! I could live on meals like this and will file your recipe away for summer. Yum!
AHHHmazing! It looks so fresh and light, I love it. Thank you for such a great recipe, I’ll have to use this one to wow them at my next barbeque!
I thought the same thing @lyssachelle – this would be a big step up from the standard bbq pasta salad
Darn the perfect tomatos – I’m ready this right before heading out to the grocery store…and I’m going to try it tonight! I’ll just try it again when they’re ready. Thanks Pam – your recipes never disappoint!
Mel, you may be able to find organic heirloom tomatoes at the market and that would also work.. the more homegrown-like the better! We want you to report back! See my note on freezing the mozzarella for 10 minutes too. Also, if you can find it, look for handmade buffalo or cow’s-milk mozzarella..amazingly delish!
Just came from my Farmers Market this morning where last week they had big, plump, ripe organic tomatoes – but I arrived at the last hour and they were sold out. Boo!
I’ll get there earlier next week and be able to pick up fresh tomatoes, basil and some super creamy, yummy organic mozz.
Another cooking tip worth sharing with you that I recently learned when making this, is to actually put the fresh mozzarella – cut into small ½-inch cubes briefly in the freezer, like 10 minutes. Then when you combine this into warm pasta, it will help it from becoming a cheesy, stringy, chewy mess!
Caprese salad is my absolute fave! This looks awesome. Def going to bookmark and make asap!
Mmm that sounds great! And it seems like it’d be good for leftovers too. I can’t wait to make this.
Caprese salad is so yummy! I like all the fresh ingredients this recipe uses. Anything with fresh mozzarella I want to OM NOM NOM NOM!
thanks for sharing this recipe!
Boy, oh boy! This looks scrumptious!!! I must print this recipe out. What a yummy looking summer meal!
I’m totally making this…as soon as I get a stove at my new place… :)
Thank you so much for including the weights for the ingredients in this great sounding recipe!!
@Irene this looks so good! I’m getting hungry just looking at the photo. This reminds me of summer BBQs and picnics. Hopefully the terrible cook in me can give this a try soon :)
Ok Pam – help! I made it but it didn’t turn out well for me. Mine looks just like yours and I followed the recipe – even found organic ripe Romas in my local grocery store and used your freezer trick for the mozzarella. Used fresh basil and good EVOO. Mine is really bland…was I supposed to use mozzarella that had been marinated in some salt solution – I just used the fresh kinda tasteless kind, and that’s what seems to be missing…salt or Italian dressing?
Mel, Oh my, I’m not sure what happened. There is plenty of salt in this. Even the cheese that is grated is on the salty side. I know that fresh mozzarella alone can be a bit bland, but you have all the flavors blending from all the ingred. I am just as stumpted as you. I hope you make it again and have better luck. Perhaps it was the tomatoes.. did you taste them first?
I’m so sorry that this came out not to your liking. I hope you doctored this up anyway. I would add more cheese and extra pepper if that happened and that should help when this happens. Let me know what you did. :(