whole wheat spaghetti caprese

whole wheat spaghetti caprese

Good morning!! As promised, here’s what I made for date night last week!

This recipe was featured in last Friday’s fave as my new must-try recipe. I’m so glad that I got to try it the day I declared it my fave lol. Usually, it takes me a few weeks before I get around to trying out new recipes. Anyways, I found this recipe on clookbook via Tastespotting.

I made this for date night last week! I was a bit nervous since I hadn’t been in the kitchen for what seemed like forever, three weeks to be exact! This pasta dish was simple, required fairly little ingredients, inexpensive, and pretty darn delicious!

Now on to the recipe review…

Although this was delicious, I did change a few things to suit our tastes and preferences. For the tomato sauce, I had to add in lots of dried oregano, a whole lot of fresh cracked black pepper, and some sea salt. Why? Because I think plain old tomato sauce lacks flavor and to be honest, the idea of just eating spaghetti with plain tomato sauce from a can didn’t sound too appetizing to me.

Also, I was a bit confused about the crushed red pepper ingredient. I am a kitchen newbie, and purchased crushed red pepper flakes because I didn’t not know what he meant by crushed red pepper lol. Are crushed red pepper flakes crushed red pepper?? Furthermore, the recipe never specified when to add this so I assumed he meant while the sauce is simmering.

Aside from some confusion on my part and my newbie kitchen status, this recipe was pretty easy to follow along. My boyfriend loved it! Date night = success!! :)

Here’s what you’ll need to make whole wheat spaghetti caprese…

INGREDIENTS: whole wheat spaghetti, tomato sauce, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese ball, grated parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper, fresh basil (I just love my basil plant!), oregano, salt, and pepper

STEP 1: Boil water and cook pasta

STEP 2: Rinse the tomatoes with water

STEP 3: Cut the tomatoes in halves

STEP 4: Unwrap that big ball of mozzarella cheese

STEP 5: Cut the mozzerella cheese into cubes (my boyfriend and I couldn't help ourselves and nibbled on a few :)

STEP 6: Pluck a few basil leaves, wash, and pat dry

STEP 7: Chiffonade the basil and set aside

STEP 8: Heat the tomato sauce in the pan on medium heat

NOTE: The original recipe did not include this but I added lots of dried oregano/pepper/salt to the tomato sauce for added flavor.

STEP 9: When the pasta is done, scoop the pasta out with tongs and place directly into the pan on top of the sauce and mix (NOTE: He suggests adding some pasta water to thicken up the sauce, but I always like to thicken up my sauces with cheese)

STEP 10: Add tomatoes and mozzarella and cook for another 1-2 minutes and toss

STEP 11: When ready to serve, top it off with the basil and sprinkle some parmesan cheese!

Whole Wheat Spagheti Caprese (courtesy of clookbook)

• 1/2 box of whole wheat spaghetti
• 1/2 cup of tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
• 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese, cut into small pieces (halved if small balls)
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
• sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese
• salt/pepper

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to directions on box. whole wheat spaghetti takes around 10-12 minutes once the water is boiling.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.
3. With about 5 minutes to go, heat the sauce in the pan on medium heat.
4. Once pasta is cooked, scoop out of the pot using tongs and place directly into the pan on top of the sauce.
5. Add a few tablespoons of pasta water as well (heavy starch content helps thicken the sauce).
6. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Add tomatoes and mozzarella and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
8. Add basil, salt/pepper and serve.
9. Garnish with parmesan cheese.

What did you guys make for date night? Please do share. Due to a busy schedule, we moved up date night to Thursday this week. Any suggestions as to what I should make?

xoxo, kat

ps. Thanks Melissa Elston (from Potent Strawberries) and Trish for your sweet comments! I couldn’t of gotten back in the kitchen and do date night cooking without knowing that there are happy positive people around :)

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