Capellini with No-Time-To-Cook Tomato Sauce

Note from Marie: Wow! I love this dish. The "no-cook part" makes it super easy. But what I really love about this dish is the wonderfully fresh taste. Just take a look at the ingredients and you'll see why: fresh tomatoes, basil, parsley, and garlic? Each bite is like a trip to the garden! I used capellini in this recipe because it cooks so quickly (literally, 3-5 minutes at the most), but you can use any pasta for this dish. Maybe try a whole wheat spaghetti if you need some extra whole grains in your diet. And serve with my Cesar Salad From the Heart for a fabulous, easy Italian meal. Yum!

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

4 cups cherry tomatoes, washed and quartered

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus extra for pasta water and finished pasta)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 tablespoons fresh basil, minced

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into bite-size squares

1 pound capellini

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions:

Place quartered cherry tomatoes in a large bowl. Add minced garlic, herbs, olive oil, mozzarella cheese, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Begin boiling large pot of water over high heat. Add two large pinches of salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil. (Oil will keep pasta from sticking together.) When water reaches a rolling boil, add capellinni. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Watch carefully, as capellini will cook very quickly!

Cook pasta until "al dente". (This means that the pasta should offer a slight resistance when bitten into. It should not be soft, mushy, or overdone.) Immediately drain hot water and pour pasta into serving dish. Drizzle with olive oil and gently toss. (This, too, will keep pasta from sticking together.)

Pour tomato mixture over pasta. Add additional salt and pepper if necessary.

Serve immediately -- with Parmesan cheese, if desired.