Pasta with Fresh Tomato,

With Helene Spoto

Plump, garden tomatoes (homegrown, farm stand or store-bought), fragrant basil leaves and creamy mozzarella cheese are marinated in extra virgin olive oil, crushed garlic and lemon to infuse their flavors. When hot, cooked pasta is added to this mixture, the result is a mouth-watering dish you’ll make again and again.

Ingredients

2 ½ to 3 pounds assorted tomatoes (cherry, plum, beefsteak, assorted colors), diced
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 cup hand torn basil leaves
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, diced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice from half of a lemon
Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
1 pound whole wheat pasta (try different varieties)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, garlic, basil, mozzarella, oil, vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper.
2. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
3. Boil pasta according to package directions.
4. Drain* the pasta and add to the bowl.
5. Toss the pasta to coat completely and the cheese starts to melt.
6. Serve hot or at room temperature.
7. Before serving, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and garnish with more fresh basil.

*Reserve about ½-cup of cooking liquid to add to the pasta if it seems a bit dry.

Recipe courtesy of Helene's Custom Cuisine, 2010.

Proprietor & Cooking Instructor, "Helene's Custom Cuisine - Personal and Business Culinary Services."

Helene is still surprised how she became a cooking instructor. She always loved to cook, however, having a busy career as co-owner of Sentry Financial Planning in Burlington & Danvers; she didn’t have much time to spend in the kitchen. Looking for ways to simplify her cooking while still making great food, she learned to adapt recipes in order to make them quick, healthy and still taste great. Helene was so excited about her discoveries she began sharing them with family and friends. She had no idea that this hobby would turn into an opportunity to show so many people how easy this can be as a cooking instructor for the past six years.

With Helene’s Custom Cuisine, her goal, whether it’s a private or group cooking class, interactive dinner party, team building event or corporate on-site cooking demonstration, is to help people discover that preparing delicious food can be done quickly and easily with great results.

Still, the most important three words to describe my cooking are: Quick Healthy Delicious

She lives in Andover with her husband, John.