Tomato and mozzarella penne pasta

Name: Tomato and mozzarella penne pasta
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup olive oil; 6 cloves garlic; 6-8 tomatoes (or 2 containers of cherry tomatoes); 1/2 tsp salt; 1 bunch fresh basil; 1 lb fresh mozzarella; 1 lb penne pasta; to taste parmesan; to taste crushed red pepper flakes; 2 oz baby spinach

Kimmicat @kimmicat

A delicious, easy recipe made by my mother, and now I'd like to share it with the world.

Kimmicat @kimmicat

A delicious, easy recipe made by my mother, and now I'd like to share it with the world.

Saved

Ingredients

4 servings

1/2 cupolive oil
6 clovesgarlic
6-8tomatoes (or 2 containers of cherry tomatoes)
1/2 tspsalt
1 bunchfresh basil
1 lbfresh mozzarella
1 lbpenne pasta
to taste parmesan
to taste crushed red pepper flakes
2 ozbaby spinach

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Steps

1

Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute. Remember that 1 clove is about 1 or 2 tsp. Be careful not to burn it!
2

Pour garlic and oil into a large bowl. This should be the bowl where everything eventually goes into.
3

Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Cook your penne. While this cooks, this is a good time to cut your tomatoes and mozzarella into diced pieces. If you can find the mozzarella that is already in "pearl" form, that makes things easier.
4

Put your diced tomatoes, salt, and basil in the large bowl.
5

Put diced mozzarella in a smaller, separate bowl. Pour in a little bit of olive oil - just enough to coat them. Believe me, this is important, unless you want all of the mozzarella to stick in one big clump..
6

Once pasta is cooked, strain and pour it into the large bowl. Immediately, you'll want to add in the mozzarella and stir it all up while the noodles are hot.
7

Stir thoroughly. Add parmesan and red pepper flakes to taste.
8

Optional: If you can get your hands on fig balsamic glaze, this is a very nice addition to add some sweetness to it.
9

Can be served hot or cold. I like it hot, my dad likes it cold, so it's really just a matter of opinion. Enjoy!
10

Also, you could add some baby spinach leaves, if you want some greens!