tomatoes + mozzarella + mint {pasta}

Sometimes you just have to make do with what you have. I am reminded of this pretty much every time we head up to Todi for the weekend. In the summer and fall I have the bounty of the garden to jump into for inspiration and ingredients. But during the rest of the year? There is no garden to speak of and I kind of forget what I have (and don’t have) in the cupboard.

A few weekends ago the weather was grand, and we decided to stay longer on Sunday than I had planned. That meant I had to figure out something for lunch. My go to solution is, of course, pasta. I can always figure out some sort of pantry pasta, right?

While I did have a big bag of Faella pasta, as well as a couple of cans of pomodorini, I was totally garlic and onion-less.  It was actually kind of scary thinking about making tomato sauce with neither of these essential elements.

So I wandered into the otherwise barren garden, hoping…..I don’t know what I was hoping. That I would find a miracle onion? (we hadn’t planted any) That somehow a leek had wintered over? (no such luck). But as I was wandering, I realized that the air was sweeter than usual. As it turned out, the paths dividing the empty beds were blanketed in wild mint.

While I’d never added it to tomato sauce before, I decided to let desperation win out.

The canned tomatoes got cooked down with a totally extravagant amount of olive oil. Salt, a bit of pepper, and finally – at the last possible moment – two huge handfuls of chopped mint.

I tossed this with the rigatoni, as well as some left over mozzarella from the day before.

It was completely and utterly different from any tomato sauce I’d ever made. The lack of any allium whatsoever made the tomatoeyness much more intense, sugary and border line fruity. And the mint? It added an extra level sweetness that balanced perfectly with the milky addition of mozzarella.

While I’m not 100% ready to give up garlic and onions quite yet, I am willing to confront my addiction in the face, and try – at least once a week? – to do without.

pasta with tomatoes, mint and mozzarella

2 cans of cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
pepper
1 bunch mint
1/2 cup cubed mozzarella
1 pound / 1/2 kilo rigatoni

Pour the oil in a pot and heat over a medium flame. Add the canned tomatoes, along with the juices, and the salt and pepper. Turn up the heat, and let bubble away for about 20 minutes, until the sauce becomes quite thick, and the olive oil merges with the tomatoes. Add the mint, stir and cook for a few more minutes.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until done.

Drain pasta and place in a large serving bowl. Add tomatoes sauce and stir well. Add the mozzarella, a bit at a time, stirring very gently after each bit. The trick here is to distribute the mozzarella evenly, without it all getting clumped together.

Serve with grated parmigano on the side.