Rigatoni Caprese

me June 23, 2005 Adventures in the Kitchen, Favorites, Main dishes, Summer Fare

From Cooking Light by way of YAAPS, quite tasty.

Original poster’s comments: I used mini penne, fresh mozzarella is a must (the hard dry block just won’t cut it, you need the moz. packed in water, I diced up half a container of wet moz), and I used freshly grated Romano cheese. Oh, and I added Lawry’s seasoned salt instead of table salt. It was SO good, and made a huge honking bowl of pasta. It points out to 8 points per serving but that’s for two cups of pasta, a nice big bowl. Now I just have to keep out of it!

Rigatoni Caprese

6 cups hot cooked rigatoni, penne, or ziti (about 3/4 pound uncooked pasta)
4 cups chopped plum tomato (about 2-1/2 pounds)
1-1/2 cups fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 cup (4 ounces) diced fresh mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon capers
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/3 cup (1-1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine oil, capers, salt, pepper, and garlic in a small bowl; stir well with a whisk. Pour over pasta mixture; toss gently. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese; toss well.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:
calories: 390 carbohydrates: 54 g cholesterol: 25 mg fat: 12.5 g sodium: 553 mg protein: 16 g calcium: 233 mg iron: 3 mg fiber: 4.5 g

YIELD:
5 servings (serving size: 2 cups)
From Cooking Light

My comments: Really tasty, good potluck dish. We usually put extra tomatoes and capers in it, but that’s mostly beause we’re weird. It really benefits from a mix of fresh, tasty tomatoes — excellent summer dish!