Aunt Ruthie's summer pasta with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil

This week's entry is a bit different from last week's Ribfest meat extravaganza. Three weeks ago when the summer was in its final and most pleasant stages, I (Pat) took advantage of a pot-luck picnic and the cheap bulk tomatoes bursting off the vines to make a big batch of another one of our favourite foods in the world: summer pasta with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.

This was the dish that turned me from a tomato-hater into a tomato-fiend a few years ago, thanks to my Aunt Ruthie's recipe and her fresh homegrown tomatoes. It has one of the highest deliciousness:preparation-time ratios I know of, and is the kind of vegetarian dish that has just as intense flavours and textures as any meat dish.

I've provided a sort of recipe as best I can remember, but it's more like rules of thumb to apply to your proportions. The photo shows all the ingredients I used to make a giant batch that supplied the pot-luck as well as several lunches/dinners for a couple of days (although, unfortunately, it's not quite the same as left-overs and doesn't keep more than a couple of days). 

 

Don't forget the wine! Not for the recipe, but to sip as you go. I love sipping on wine while I cook. I picked it up after reading a delightful passage from Ian McEwan's novel "Saturday". It's a great way of helping the cooking process seem like relaxing fun rather than a chore.

(serves ~4)

2 lbs tomatoes
1/2 lb mozzarella (more if you can afford it!)
1/2 a bunch of basil
2 cloves of garlic (more if you like garlic a lot)
~1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
salt and pepper to taste

1 lb pasta

Chop the tomatoes and mozzarella into bite-sized chunks. Chop the basil into coarse flakes. Chop/press the garlic cloves into the olive oil and marinate the tomatoes, mozzarella and basil in this for a few minutes.

Cook the pasta till al dente, mix it in with your marinade, and you're done! Simple as that. Adjust the salt, pepper or olive oil if necessary.