Penne with fresh tomato, basil, and mozzarella

Last weekend I went bonkers at the farmer's market and bought about 5 lbs of tomatoes. Now a girl can eat only so many BLTs, and I have been in a pico de gallo funk lately, so I was in a pickle. 5 lbs of tomatoes - big fat brandywines, no less - and I had to do something with them, stat. Tomato lovers like me live for the end of the season tomatoes - we need to gobble them all up so that we can remember the gloriousness of a garden grown tomato come February.

So, here is what I made: Penne with fresh tomato, basil, and mozzarella. The flavor was SO good, due to the garden tomatoes. The sauce was a tad runny, but the flavor made up for it.

I'm not going to be too technical as I run down the recipe step by step. Instead, pictures! With sketchy instructions! Because, hello! There is already a link!

So, what you're gonna do is get yourself about 3 lbs of tomatoes. I used heirloom brandywines like this, which are nice and meaty and don't require much de-seeding:



Chop 'em up. You'll need 3 cups.


Ooh! Garlic. My favorite. Mince about 1.5 tablespoons (I obviously used more).


Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium to med-high heat. (If you shop at SuperTarget, try the olive oil pictured. It is amazing.)


Add the minced garlic and stir for about one minute.


Add the tomatoes.


Time to get the water started. Fill a stock pot 3/4 full with cold water. Put on burner. Heat to high. Turn a burner into high heat and stare at the pot until it boils.


I had some leftover focaccia bread that I sliced up to bake.


I drizzled them with olive oil and baked at 350 degrees until I don't know when. Maybe ten minutes?


Hey! Your water is boiling! Time to add the pasta. (Also a shameless plug for my favorite line of pasta: Barilla Plus.)


Congratulations. Your pasta is now boiling and your sauce is now simmering.


WINE BREAK!

Go get a glass...


Pour in some wine...


Voila! Screw top wine that doesn't taste like sweaty feet!


Time to get back to work. Get yourself some basil:


And some mozzarella:


Chiffonade the basil and cube the cheese.


Everyone say hi to Dave as he grates the Parm!


Once I pulled the toasts out of the oven, I rubbed them with a cut clove of garlic.


Hey! Stop eating garlic toast! The pasta is done, and it needs draining!


Scoop some pasta onto a plate, spoon sauce on top, sprinkle with basil, mozzarella, and parmigiano-reggiano and a little fresh black pepper.


Mmmm. It tasted exactly like how a good pizza margherita tastes, but better.