Caprese Pasta Salad

 Happy September!  With the close of the summer and the start of fall and the school year I think about how wonderful this summer has been.   I’ve had the opportunity to do new things, improve lessons and activities for my classroom and write blog posts. (Even a few reserves for when school inevitably gets hectic and I don’t have time to do my monthly post.)

We just had our End of Summer Yoga Potluck and after I munched on kale, farro, chickpea salad, some vegan coleslaw and my almost-famous salted caramel cupcakes I thought about how I’ve changed as an eater.  I loved the salad and now will have to try to recreate it and see if B will eat it but growing up I was a picky eater.  Think of the pickiest person you know, then double their pickiness and then maybe, just maybe that was me.  

My mother’s favorite story of how picky I was comes from when I was about 7 and we were going to a family reunion in PA. On the way there we stopped at a diner.  Seems pretty strange since we were heading to a party with tons of food.  However, I did not eat hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, macaroni salad, potato salad, baked beans, or pretty much anything that was at a BBQ.  So my father dutifully stopped and bought two grilled cheese sandwiches wrapped in aluminum foil so that when he was grilling later at the party he could just plop them on the grill to warm them up.   (And yes, I really was/am that much of a princess)

Even now, I’m not a huge fan of a mayonnaise based salads, I’ll try them when someone brings them, but they’re not my go to. 

My go to for BBQ parties is my easy-peasy Italian pasta salad that even pickiest of eaters will eat.

This pasta salad is has a fresh summer caprese feel to it with tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella cheese (because cheese makes everything better) and pasta (today I used veggie pasta for some more veggies in there.)

Ingredients:

• About a 1 pint of Cherry tomatoes or 1-2 full sized
• 4-5, Basil leaves
• Half a box of any pasta shape you like. 
• Either Fresh mozzarella ball cut into bite size pieces or the mozzarella bocconcini about 8oz. I had a little less because I had to do some quality control. 

Dressing:

• ½ tsp Dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar 
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ c of extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and Black pepper to taste.

1)  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  It is important to salt the pasta water because it is the only opportunity to salt the pasta.

2)  Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.  After straining the pasta run cold water over it.  This will end the cooking process.

3)  While the pasta is cooking cut the cherry tomatoes in half or dice the full sized tomatos.

4) Chiffonade the basil.  Which means roll the basil leaves and cut small strips.

5) If using the fresh mozzarella ball cut into pieces or if using bocconcini, maybe cut in half or quarters.

6) Assemble the pasta salad!  In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, basil, cooked pasta, and mozzarella. 

Now to make the dressing….  I use my favorite Pyrex measuring cup with a spout but you could also make it in a blender or a food processor.  If you're pressed for time feel free to use some bottled balsamic vinaigrette or Italian dressing.  It would work just fine! 

7) Drop in the Dijon mustard and the balsamic vinegar and mix rigorously.  I used a fork because my whisk is too large for the Pyrex.

8) Grate the garlic into the dressing with a microplane.  If using a blender or food processor you can make that do all the work.

9) Slowly, while still mixing mix rigorously, add the extra virgin olive oil.  Add salt/pepper to taste.

10) Pour over the pasta salad and let chill out in the refrigerator for at least a half hour for the flavors to blend.

Yum!!

I usually serve it with a slotted spoon because it is loaded with dressing.  Enjoy!

Sorry for the lack of pictures at the beginning, I forgot until halfway through making it!