Caprese Pasta Salad 

“Some salads burn. This one cools you without dimming the light.”

Caprese Pasta Salad

The classic Italian trinity—tomato, mozzarella, basil—meets perfectly cooked pasta in a dish that’s refreshing, balanced, and elegant without trying too hard. Simple? Yes. But simplicity is an artform.

Ingredients

  • 8 oz pasta (fusilli, farfalle, or orecchiette hold the dressing well)
  • 1½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 cup fresh mozzarella pearls or torn mozzarella
  • 1½ cups fresh basil, torn—not chopped
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar (or regular, if mellow)
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • Salt + pepper, to taste
  • Optional: toasted pine nuts, shaved Parm, or a few crushed pink peppercorns for magic

How The Alchemy Happens

  1. Cook pasta in well-salted water until al dente. Drain and rinse briefly under cool water.
  2. Toss warm pasta with olive oil, vinegar, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Let it breathe.
  3. Gently fold in tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil.
  4. Chill for 15 minutes, or serve room temp—let the oil seep and the flavors nest.

🔙 Back to the Kitchen

“In a lineup of thunder, this is the quiet one with a knife.”