Caprese Pasta Salad

Prep Time:  20 minutes                  Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes for pasta
Number of Servings:   4

Ingredients:

1 recipe of Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

1 ½ cups (375 mL /150 g) short-cut pasta, making about 2 cups cooked
1 cup (250 mL/200g) soft fresh cheese (like bocconcini), cut into small cubes

1 ½ cups (375 mL /250 g) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved, or left whole if not too large
1 cup (250 mL) lightly packed fresh basil, thinly sliced, or torn into small pieces (leave small leaves whole)

Balsamic Vinaigrette Ingredients:

2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
¼ cup fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons (45 mL) balsamic vinegar

½ cup (125 mL) extra virgin olive oil
3/4  teaspoon (4 mL) Kosher Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Start by making the vinaigrette:  Place the 2 cloves of garlic, ¼ cup of basil leaves, Dijon mustard, and balsamic vinegar in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times, or until all ingredients are finely chopped.   Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and process briefly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you are not using a food processor, this can also be done by hand. Finely mince the garlic and basil leaves and place in a small bowl. Whisk in the mustard and vinegar; slowly drizzle in the olive oil.
2. Set vinaigrette aside as you prepared the other salad ingredients.
3. Cook pasta (al dente) in a large pot of boiling salted water – about 10-12 minutes.
4. Drain pasta; give it a quick rinse with cold water, and place cooked pasta in a bowl. Pour about ½ cup of vinaigrette over the warm pasta, and stir to combine.
5. Add the fresh mozzarella to the pasta – ensure that the pasta has cooled sufficiently so as not to ‘melt’ the cheese. It is okay if the pasta is a little warm.
6. Refrigerate the pasta-cheese mixture as you prepare the other salad ingredients.
7.  Halve tomatoes, if necessary.   Place in a salad bowl.
8.  When the pasta mixture has sufficiently cooled  … or when you are ready to serve the salad … add it to the tomatoes in the salad bowl.
9. Add some more vinaigrette – just enough to thoroughly coat the ingredients; stir to combine. You may not need all of the vinaigrette, so don’t add it all at one time.
10.  Thinly slice, or tear, the basil …leave small leaves whole.  Add the basil to the pasta-tomatoe mixture at the last minute.
11. Adjust seasonings; garnish with some extra basil leaves, and serve immediately.