Summer Salad Series: Caprese Pasta Salad

I am slowly winning Scott over to pasta salad.

For many years, he operated under the assumption that pasta salad came in only two varieties: vinegary and doused with store-bought Italian dressing or gloppy and drowned in mayonnaise. Since he likes neither vinegar nor mayonnaise, he was hesitant to try any pasta salad. And by "hesitant" I mean that he adamantly told me he did not like pasta salad: no way, no how.

After I convinced him that there were more varieties besides vinegary and gloppy, there remained the "but it's cold" hurdle. Pasta, in Scott's estimation, was not supposed to be cold. It took a warm Louisiana graduation to change his mind. I made some for the parents during graduation weekend. He tried it and -- surprise! -- it was tasty. Ever since then, he's been much more open to pasta salad. The verdict for this dish? "I wish I'd known how to make this myself when we lived apart!"

Notes: This dish was so very delicious. It's refreshing and mild -- exactly what you need on a hot summer evening.

The only reason this isn't Q.E.D is because it takes time to chill in the fridge. Otherwise, it's barely cooking at all.

If you wanted to up the nutritional content, add some chopped baby spinach.

I bought lemon basil because that's what the co-op had, but it didn't change the flavor enough for me to notice. I've just written it with regular basil.

Ingredients:
1 pound penne pasta
1 bunch fresh basil
1/2 pound of cherry tomatoes
1 fresh mozzarella ball
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Directions:

Fill a stock pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add a small handful of salt and drop the pasta. Cook according to box directions, it should be between 6-7 minutes.

While you're waiting for the water to boil, quarter the cherry tomatoes (or if they are small, just cut them in half). Chiffonade the basil (or just chop it if you're lazy like me). Dice the mozzarella ball.

When the pasta is finished, drain it in a colander. While the noodles are still in the colander, drizzle them with olive oil and season them with salt and pepper. Toss the noodles to coat them with oil. Repeat the process once more: drizzle more oil, season, and toss the noodles. Periodically stir the noodles until they stop steaming. If at any point they seem sticky, drizzle on more oil.

Add the tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Toss to combine and pour the salad into the container that you plan to store it in. Chill for at least two hours or overnight.

Serve cold and enjoy!