Pasta with Checca Sauce Recipe (mozzarella, tomatoes and basilic)

Damián

10 years ago

Pasta alla Checca is a typical dish from Rome. The main characteristic of this delicious dish is that we do not need to cook the sauce, like for a pesto. Moreover, we can say that it is a dish halfway in between a salad and a pasta dish because it can be eaten cold or warm. Although, among the two options, I would much rather serve it warm. In this case, the mozzarella melts a little bit, and I think that as this it is very delightful.

Pasta with Checca Sauce Recipe (mozzarella, tomatoes and basilic)

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Serves: 4 Time: 15 m Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

400 g of short pasta (fusilli, penne, farfalle, wheels …)
2 balls of buffalo mozzarella
2 tomatoes, ripe and tasty
Basil leaves, amount to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper

Directions

In a large pot, bring 3 liters of water. When the water boils, add 2 tablespoons of salt. When the water boils again, cook the pasta al dente following directions on package.
Wash the tomatoes, remove the stem with a knife and dice them.
Drain and dice the mozzarella into cubes of about 1 cm square. No need to be perfect.
Wash the basil leaves, dry them well and coarsely chop them.
When the pasta is cooked, drain and toss with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent them to stick.
Now you have two choices, let the pasta cool completely, or serve it warm.
Just before serving, mix all ingredients together with the pasta in a large bowl, season with black pepper, olive oil and salt to taste.
It is done. Enjoy!

Hints, Tips, and Tricks

You can replace one of the balls of mozzarella by Caciotta Romana cheese, also diced.
If you like, you can remove the tomato seeds.
If you are going to eat this dish cold, do not cool the pasta with water. It is better to mix it with a drizzle of oil to prevent sticking and allow it to cool.
Although this dish is easy to prepare, to succeed the pasta alla Checca you need good quality ingredients. Whenever possible, and according to what you can afford, buy good mozzarella balls (buffalo, of course), perfectly ripe tomatoes and premium extra virgin olive oil.

Categories: easy recipe pasta recipe