Description
We’ve got the classic Caprese salad flavor combination of tomato, basil, and mozzarella. It is the Italian flag in a bowl, and it’s a beautiful thing!
Ingredients
Scale
For the Pesto
- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup roasted pine nuts
- salt to taste
Orecchiette
- 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 16 ounces orecchiette pasta
- 1 batch of homemade pesto (recipe below)
- 1 cup fresh mozzarella (Ciliegine), sliced in half and room temperature
Instructions
For the Pesto
- Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and process until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary.
Orecchiette
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and set a large pot of salted water on high heat to boil for the pasta.
- In a small bowl, toss the tomatoes with a teaspoon of olive oil. Lay them in a single layer on a Silpat lined baking sheet, and roast for 15-18 minutes.
- Cook pasta according to directions and drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
- Add the freshly made pesto to your pasta and stir to coat. If the pesto is too thick for your liking, you can thin it out a bit with the reserved pasta water, adding a little at a time.
- Add in the oven roasted tomatoes and room temperature fresh mozzarella. The warmth of the pasta will soften the cheese.
- Taste the pasta and add salt as needed.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 453
- Sugar: 1.9g
- Sodium: 443mg
- Fat: 32g
- Saturated Fat: 8.3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 21.2g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 28g
- Fiber: 2.1g
- Protein: 15g
- Cholesterol: 31mg