Pasta Caprese -- posted by Jessica

This is a really good pasta recipe from America's Test Kitchen! I prefer making this as a chilled pasta salad rather than the hot pasta dish the recipe indicates, so I rinse the pasta under cold water to cool it before adding the other ingredients and then chill before serving. It tastes best after chilling for a few hours to meld all the flavors. It is a project to make, but it is worth it in late summer when fresh garden ripe tomatoes are available. [if you like tomatoes! :)]
The original recipe calls for fresh mozzarella as I guess it melts better than regular. As I prefer this chilled, I just use the cheaper regular mozzarella block cheese.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil (use a good quality extra virgin olive oil)
2-4 tsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tb finely minced shallot
salt and pepper
1 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded & diced
12 oz mozzarella, cubed (I just use an 8 oz block and it is plenty)
1 lb. campanelle paste (it is this cute flower shaped pasta!)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tsp sugar

Whisk oil, 2 tsp lemon juice, garlic, shallot, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper together in a large bowl. Add the tomatoes tossing gently to combine. Set aside; do not marinate longer than 45 minutes.

Cook pasta till al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water if making cold salad

Add pasta and cheese to tomatoe mixture. Stir in basil. Add salt, pepper, addtl. lemon juice and sugar to taste. Serve warm or chilled.

Serves 4-6 (More like 8 in my opinion!)