Caprese Pasta

I love the combination of tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Throw it on bread, or just give me a fork, and I’m happy. Recently I discovered and AMAZING pasta at a local Italian restaurant, so I decided to try to make it at home. I’ll be honest, I’m missing something. The flavor of the original is sweeter and richer, I’m guessing that would be because they use cream, and I can’t bring myself to use cream when cooking. (Although I seem to have no issue eating it when I’m out!) But my version is still a satisfying second…

1 pound pasta (I use Penne)

1 sweet onion chopped

6 – 8 tomatoes chopped (I always pick tomatoes still on the vine, I think they are more flavorful)

milk, flour and butter

about 1 cup of  sliced whole mozzarella balls

Cook pasta in salted water, drain.

In large saucepan, cook onions on medium low in butter until softened and starting to carmelize. Add chopped tomatoes and cook until tomatoes have softened and lost their original shape. Add 2 TB of flour and stir through, breaking up any chunks with a fork. Add 3/4 cup of milk. Stir until heated through and beginning to thicken. Add more milk to make more sauce, add more flour to thicken. When sauce is thick, add mozzarella and heat just til the cheese begins to soften. Remove from heat.

Pour sauce over individual bowls of pasta. I find it better with this recipe NOT to add the sauce to all of the pasta. I like the cheese with some form still, and stirring it into the pasta will melt it completely.

Add salt as needed. Serve with warm bread, of course, and enjoy!