Meat Free Monday: Capellini Caprese
The thing I like most about this recipe is that not only can it be served either warm or cold, but it can also be on the table in less than 20 minutes. This is also one of those dishes that you can improvise pretty easily – I have made it with canned organic diced tomatoes, dried spices and shredded mozzarella (all are ingredients that I tend to have stocked on a regular basis thus I avoid a last minute trip to the grocery store).
So how does my family feel about this recipe? Well, my husband said he liked the flavor of the tomato sauce although he prefers to put parmesan cheese on his instead of the fresh mozzarella. Our 7 year old balked because he likes lots of tomato sauce (think more like a spaghetti sauce) although he did say he liked it. He just wanted “more sauce mommy“!!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. whole wheat capellini (or any other whole wheat pasta)
- 1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup shredded or thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup fresh basil, finely sliced
Instructions:
- Cook pasta as directed on package.
- Heat Italian dressing, chopped onions and garlic in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Simmer and stir for approximately 2 min.
- Add chopped tomatoes to the skillet and cook an additional5 min
- Turn off the heat. Add pasta to the skillet and mix.
- Add mozzarella and basil right before serving
(This dish can be served warm or at room temperature)
Just made this for dinner and it was delicious! I loved that it was super easy and really quick. The basil really made the dish I think. Thanks Deena!
This was a very fast and easy recipe and so so good. My hubby LOVED it! My kiddos are hard to please, so they thought it was ok. We don’t care for onions so I omitted the onions and used whole wheat angel hair pasta. I ate the leftovers (since my kids didn’t eat much) for lunch the next day and I think it was even better cold. Thanks for this recipe, I will be making this alot.