I was watching “America’s Test Kitchen” the other day, and they talked about using the technique of cutting up supermarket fresh mozzarella into cubes and freezing them for a few minutes to ensure your pasta wouldn’t get super goopy.
I did this when making a twist on caprese (which had some of its own issues) last night, and I’m not sure whether I’m pro-. The technique worked, for sure. But I think I really like the stringy, gooey, clumpiness that happens when your mozzarella melts more into your pasta. Any thoughts?
At any rate, here’s the recipe for what I did. I ended up using the recipe as an excuse to use up some leftovers (shocking), so it’s not a strict caprese. I marinated the tomatoes like they did on ATK, but not precisely the same way. I’m on the fence whether the shrimp worked – they were tasty, but I’m not sure whether the flavors worked so well together (then again, maybe I have some cheese/shrimp combo prejudice).
*about 1/3 a log of fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes
*handful of fresh basil leaves, torn
*handful of fresh arugula leaves, torn
*handful of leftover asparagus, cut into pieces
*some leftover frozen shrimp, defrosted and cut in half
*red pepper flakes
*1 clove garlic, minced
*canned tomatoes (maybe half a can)
*sherry vinegar
*squirt or two of lemon juice
*a bit of red onion, diced
*pinch of sugar
*olive oil
*half a package of whole wheat penne
Put cheese in freezer. Marinate tomatoes in vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, red onion and olive oil.
Cook pasta in salted water. While that’s happening, sautee shrimp with garlic and red pepper flakes until opaque. Add asparagus and cook until tender. Add tomato mixture to pan and heat through.
Strain pasta – toss with cheese, shrimp/tomato mixture, arugula and basil.
