Penne with Tomatoes and Smoked Mozzarella
We live in tomato country. Our summers are hot and the fruit grows so sweet and juicy. We love to grow all kinds of tomatoes. San Marzano Roma tomatoes for pasta sauces (perfect for this dish!) and paste, beefsteak for burgers and BLT’s. Cherry tomatoes that taste just like candy and we eat them right off the plant. Golden tomatoes, purple tomatoes, striped tomatoes, green tomatoes…we love all of the tomatoes!
This is a wonderful way to showcase fresh tomatoes from your garden or farmers market in the summer and early fall. Even when it’s not tomato season, we still love this recipe. You can use canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh and it still tastes amazing. We like Trader Joe’s Diced & No Salt Added Organic Tomatoes.
The flavors in this recipe are really enhanced by the smoked mozzarella. We think it really makes the dish a standout. If you don’t particularly like smoked cheese, use only the fresh mozzarella and it will be delicious. If you can find fresh penne or rigatoni, that makes it even better! The cheese melts and mingles in the oven so you may want to use a knife to cut this pasta into portions instead of using a spoon to serve, as it is very stringy. Eat it with some crusty bread, olive oil and vinegar and you are all set!
Penne with Tomatoes and Smoked Mozzarella
- 4 tbsp butter
- 6 medium ripe tomatoes, diced*
- 16 oz penne pasta
- 4 oz smoked mozzarella, diced
- 4 oz fresh mozzarella, diced
- 12 basil leaves chiffonade
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Butter a 9×13 baking dish. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Cook the noodles following package instructions until al dente (usually 1-2 minutes less than the cooking time on the package).
While the noodles are cooking, melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When the butter begins to foam, add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, 1-2 minutes. Drain the pasta and place back into pasta pot. Add the tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, stirring until everything looks evenly distributed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place into buttered baking dish and sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top. Bake 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Serves 4 generously.
* If tomatoes aren’t in season, you can substitute 2-14.5oz. cans of diced tomatoes. We like to use Trader Joe’s Diced & No Salt Added Organic Tomatoes. Put them in a strainer and lightly rinse them.