Tomato basil mozzarella pasta.
you'll need..
- pasta. i prefer the priano brand from aldi, but use your pasta of choice.
- whole tomatoes. i had roma tomatoes on hand, any med to large tomato will do.
- garlic. fresh, or jarred. i used jarred, but i'm sure fresh would make it even better.
- basil. fresh is best, but dried will work too, nbd.
- mozzarella. freshly shredded, or bagged.
- garlic powder.
- onion powder.
- red pepper flakes
- s+p.
- extra virgin olive oil.
guidlines. if you want em'
throw some water in a pot on, toss in some salt, don't be shy. puhLEASE, don't over cook the pasta! for the love of all things, no one likes mushy pasta. priano's packaging suggests 7-9 minutes. i went with 7 minutes. a tad undercooked is best. & don't drain the water.
while the pasta is doing its own thing, grab your cast iron or skillet, do a fancy little spiral all around the skillet until you're in the center, with heat on med high.
add the 2 tbsp of garlic when the skillet is warm enough to hear it sizzle when you add the garlic, cook until fragrant. maybe even a tad brown. stirring frequently so the garlic doesn't burn!
once the garlic is done, add in your tomatoes (and fresh basil if you're have it, otherwise, wait!) , lower heat to medium, stirring less frequently, its okay if the tomatoes get a little toasty, it gives them a roasted flavor.. YUM. you'll know your tomatoes are done when they've lost some of their juiciness and are sort of deformed.
plate your dish, add shredded mozzarella to taste (aka two handfuls. give me all the cheese), with some sprinkles of basil and red pepper flakes for a little extra kick for my heat lovers!
xoxo
Kaylan