Pasta alla Checca

I was already at Trader Joe's shopping for the penne pepporanata (for my last post), so I decided to apply some of the goodies that I had at home along with a couple unique ingredients from TJ's to create "Pasta alla Checca" from Cooking with all things Trader Joe's.

The flavors all sounded right to me.  Pure, non-frilly, tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and olive oil make spaghetti something totally elevated and I just don't understand why.  I'll eat it any day of the week anyhow.



Fixins:

• 8 oz spaghetti (recipe called for linguine, but I had spaghetti on hand and they're similar enough)
• 1 8-oz container of Trader Joe's Fresh Bruschetta Sauce
• 1/4 cup Aged Asiago Cheese (recipe called for Parmesan, but I had none and the Asiago was really nice)
• 1 8-oz container of Ciligine, Fresh Mozzarella balls (I think these are pretty similar to bocconcini)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

This recipe is super quick.  You start by cooking the pasta.  While that's going, grate your asiago/parmesan cheese and chop your basil.  Drain the cooked pasta, then add the asiago/parmesan and the bruschetta sauce.  Next, gently stir in the mozzarella balls.  Top with basil and just try not to eat all of this yourself.

Result:

That bruschetta sauce must be magical because I really don't know where all of that beautiful flavor came from.  This dish was lip-smackingly delicious and I felt so naughty eating those balls of mozzarella cheese.  So much cheese!  It also had a lovely aromatic effect as it left my whole kitchen smelling like fresh basil.  Yum!


Repeat:
Oh, most definitely.  This was SO QUICK to make.  I'm talking less than 15 minutes from start to finish.  You really can't beat it, and it tastes so fresh and yummy, no one is going to care that you barely cooked anything.  I promise.  Invite me over when you make and you'll see what I mean.