Spaghetti with Summer Tomatoes & Mozzarella

Spaghetti with Summer Tomatoes & Mozzarella

Hey y'all! Welp, spring has finally sprung and now we are venturing into summer-land. June meant freedom for me growing up. Freedom from school and from responsibilities. June meant traveling, and visiting, and vacationing. June meant 100 degree weather, and pools, and friends, and laziness.

Now that I am a working city girl, I can no longer look at summer the same way, but I can find other ways to enjoy this lustrous time. Summer means fresh tomatoes! Summer means fava beans and squash blossoms! And on the weekends, it can also mean friends, freedom, visiting, and laziness. Maybe no pools, but whatever, this is SF babe, not Sacramento.

This recipe is a Bobby Flay recipe called "penne with summer tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella". I added chicken to give the dish some protein.

The recipe takes no time at all, but combines fresh ingredients to make a light pasta for summer. 

Ingredients:

4 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup basil, chopped

Salt
1 pound angel hair pasta, cooked al dente (4 minutes)
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cubed

2 small boneless chicken breasts, marinated for at least 30 minutes (in a Ziploc bag with 3 cloves of garlic, chopped, 3 tablespoons olive oil, and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar)

Directions:

1. Heat a large pan over medium heat, and add the marinated chicken breasts. Cover, and cook each side for 5 minutes.

2. In a large serving bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, red pepper flakes and basil, season with salt. Add the pasta and mozzarella and stir to combine.

Ehhhhhhhhhh voila!