Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta

Celebrate simplicity at its best with this tomato and mozzarella pasta. The quintessential flavours of Italian cuisine are wrapped up in this recipe: tomato sauce, basil and fresh buffalo mozzarella. Simple, yet scrumptious and easy to make. Serve it as a weeknight meal, for a friends gathering, or as a dinner for two.

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This is a 30 minutes easy pasta recipe. It’s made with a rich tomato sauce, basil and fresh buffalo mozzarella that melts-in-your mouth. It’s a real crowd-pleaser. Big or small, everyone will come asking for more! 

Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta

I love tomatoes and mozzarella, therefore, this recipe is one that I make over and over again. Our family and friends love it too. It’s one of the recipes that come together in a pinch. As a consequence, this means that you have more time to relax and enjoy a comforting meal at the end of working the day, or more quality time with your partner or family based on the occasion you are serving this for.

What do you need to make Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta?

• Canned Chopped Tomatoes: I personally like these ones from Mutti or Cirio. 

• White Onion

• Carrot

• Celery Stick

• Fresh Basil

• Mini Buffalo Mozzarela 

• Tortiglioni Pasta

• Parmesan Cheese

• Olive Oil

• Salt

• Pepper

• Chilli Flakes (optional)

How to make the tomato pasta sauce?

You’ll start by preparing the ingredients for the Soffritto. It’s basically the foundation of the sauce, made by sauteeing in olive oil the finely chopped onion, celery and carrot. You’ll find that this is also the base for many soups, stews and braises across Italian cuisine.

Once the vegetables are cooked, add the chopped tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking for another 20 minutes on medium-low heat. Just before it finishes cooking, add the chopped fresh basil leaves.

Tip:

You can make this tomato sauce in advance or in a bigger batch. Store it in an air-tight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. Alternatively, you can freeze it for 3 -4 months. 

You can also make different variations using this sauce. For example, you can add crispy pancetta or guanciale, or, instead of the buffalo mozzarella, you can just add a few spoonfuls of ricotta cheese at the very end, before serving.

Feel free to put your own spin on it and add the ingredients you like most! 

Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta

Yield: Makes 2 abundant servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Celebrate simplicity at its best with this tomato and mozzarella pasta. The quintessential flavours of Italian cuisine are wrapped up in this recipe: tomato sauce, basil and fresh buffalo mozzarella. Simple, yet scrumptious and easy to make. Serve it as a weeknight meal, for a friends gathering, or as a dinner for two.

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Ingredients

• 1 small white onion, finely chopped (about 60 g)
• 1/2 carrot, finely chopped (about 30 g)
• 1 small celery stick, finely chopped (about 30 g)
• 1 x 400 g canned chopped tomatoes
• 130 g mini fresh buffalo mozzarella
• 6 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped + extra for serving
• 200 g tortiglioni pasta
• 40 g parmesan cheese for serving
• 4 - 5 tablespoons of olive oil + extra to drizzle at the very end
• salt
• pepper
• chilli flakes (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan, over medium heat. Add the finely chopped onion, carrot and celery. Stir to coat. Sautee for 10 minutes.
2. In the meantime, bring to a boil a large pot of salty water.
3. Cut the mini buffalo mozzarella in half and place them on a sieve to drain well before using.
4. Reduce the heat, then add the canned chopped tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, cover with a lid and let the sauce cook for 15 - 20 minutes. Just before the end of the cooking time, add in the fresh chopped basil.
5. Whilst the sauce it's reducing, start cooking the pasta according to the packaging instructions. Ideally, you would like the pasta and the sauce to be ready at the same time.
6. Reserve some starchy water from the pasta in a mug, then drain the pasta and add it to the tomato sauce. Add some of the water if needed and stir to combine. Toss in the mozzarella and adjust the seasoning if needed.
7. Scatter some fresh basil leaves, parmesan cheese and some chilli flakes (optional). Serve immediately.