Caprese Pasta

At this point I have to come clean with a problem that my husband and I have. We are Caprese Crazy!! We are officially obsessed with Caprese anything...pizza, sandwiches, burgers, salads & now pasta!!!!! I fear its uncontrollable & I won't be surprised if this becomes a favorite flavor combination for my baby since Ive indulged so much during this pregnancy! We just can't get enough of the simple, delicious flavors.

What You Will Need: Pasta, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil, butter, flour, balsamic vinegar, parmesan cheese & milk.

The first thing you need to do is put about a cup of the balsamic vinegar into a small sauce pan and place it over a low flame. We are going to reduce the vinegar till its a thick reduction to drizzle over the top of our finished pasta dish. Keep it on a low simmer and check it often during the rest of the cooking process till it has thicken and can coat the back of a spoon.

Get your pot of salted water boiling & cook your pasta to your liking. Set aside but reserve a mug full of the starchy cooking liquid for later use.

Next step is to make the cream sauce or a Bechamel sauce. Start by making a roux. Melt a tablespoon or so of butter & whisk in the flour. Allow the raw flour to cook out before adding the liquid.

Add in your milk, bring back to a simmer and check the thickness, adding more milk if necessary. Sprinkle in your chopped basil, season with salt and pepper.

Parmesan cheese goes in next, taste, adjust and then remove the sauce from the pan and set aside. 

Dice up your tomatoes & cube the mozzarella into small pieces.

Place your cooked pasta into the pan, toss in the diced tomatoes.

Ladle in some of your basil cream sauce and toss. Add in a little at a time, you don't want the sauce to take over the dish. If the mixture seems to thick, add in some of the cooking liquid from boiling the pasta. Turn off the heat and throw in the mozzarella cheese.

Serve up a good portion of the pasta, drizzle with the balsamic reduction and an extra sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Good thing that no one was timing me when I ate this because Im pretty sure it was gone in 2 minutes. Currently, this is my new favorite way to enjoy the traditional caprese flavors.

Enjoy & Always Cook with Love!