Pasta Pomodoro with Burrata

Hey look! I’m going to talk about pasta.  And maybe Italy.  And burrata.

Shocking.

It seems that my trips to Italy in the last two years have made me more of a pasta snob.  If that was even possible.  Now I am snobby about the noodle itself.

We always have pasta in our cupboard.  We are mac and cheese fans, after all.  But I have been known to buy the cheaper brands in the past, because who really notices in a mac and cheese what the noodle is really like.

Well, it seems I did.  And my husband.  Definitely my son.  My daughter is the only easy-going one around here it seems.

This is what usually happens in our home.  My daughter asks for ‘cheese pasta’.  I yell out and ask if my son and husband want any.  Usually the answer is no.  Recently though, my son replied ‘do you have the good noodles?’.  “Yes”, comes my response.  “Then yes, I’ll have some.  Just don’t make it too milky!”

Insert eye roll here.

It made me realize that you just can’t buy the no name cheapo pasta brands if you want yummy pasta.  Well, I can’t anyway.  So we have our base line brand that we won’t go lower than (Barilla) but usually I opt for Rummo or Divella, or if I’m in a splurging kind of mood, Voiello (oh man they have the greatest shapes).  There are many other brands out there that we love, but those are the two you will most often find in our cupboard as I find the price is still reasonable, and they’re easy to find here in the Mayan Riviera.

My friend sent me a great recipe for Pappa al Pomodoro, but I was so in the mood for pasta the day I finally got around to making it, I took out the bread and tossed that gorgeous sauce on pasta and, of course, added burrata. I added basil to the sauce and also on top because I don’t get basil a lot so when I do, I want it to be noticeable.

Simple. Perfect.  Delicious. Serve it the next day on some crusty bread and parmesan. I promise, it tastes even better the next day.

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large or 2 small onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, diced
• 2 1/2 lbs tomatoes
• small bunch of basil, chopped
• 250 grams pasta
• 2 balls burrata cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Score the bottom of your tomatoes with an X. Put in boiling water for 1 minute then drain and rinse with cold water. Peels will then come off easily. Chop tomatoes.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil, then onions and garlic and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add a pinch of salt to flavor.  Add tomatoes and half the chopped basil and cook for about 20-30 minutes. (I tend to cook mine longer as it makes it more of a sauce as opposed to just chunks of tomato but that part is up to you).

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water.  Strain, reserving a little cooking water.  Toss sauce with noodles (and if you want to thin it out, use a little of the cooking water).  Add remaining basil and burrata if using or just freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Serve immediately.

Makes 2 large portions