Pasta With Tomato and Mozzarella

Simple dish with a classic fresh tomato sauce. You may use low-fat mozzarella and skip parmesan cheese if you are pursuing a low-fat diet, and serve with green salad and crusty bread. The sauce can be made well ahead and can be re-heated.

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

• 350  g penne pasta
• 150  g mozzarella cheese, chopped into 2cm cubes
•  basil leaves, to garnish
•  grated parmesan cheese, to serve (optional)

• For the tomato sauce

• 1 1⁄4 kg  fresh ripe tomatoes
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1  large onion, finely chopped
• 1  garlic clove, crushed
• 12  large fresh basil leaves
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. First skin the tomatoes - put the tomatoes in a bowl and pour boiling water over them and leave for 1 minute, then drain and slip off their skins.
2. Reserve 3 tomatoes for later and roughly chop the rest.
3. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, then add the onion and garlic and let them gently cook for 5-6 minutes, until they are softened and light golden in colour.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes with about a third of the basil, torn into pieces and season with salt and freshly milled black pepper.
5. Let the tomatoes simmer on a very low heat, without a lid, for about 1-1½ hours or until the tomatoes are reduced to a thick sauce, stirring now and again.
6. Roughly chop the reserved tomatoes and stir them in, along with the rest of the torn basil leaves and take it off heat.
7. Cook the pasta as per the package instructions.
8. When you are ready to eat, gently re-heat the tomato sauce and stir the cubes of mozzarella into the warm sauce and let it simmer gently for 2-3 minutes only to slightly soften the cheese (just begun to melt).
9. Serve the sauce spooned over the drained pasta, sprinkled with the parmesan (if using) and add a few basil leaves as garnish.