Tagliatelle with courgette, tomato and mozzarella

Pasta forms the cornerstone of many week-night suppers in the Turpin household: it is quick to cook - many pasta dishes can be prepared in under 30 minutes, doesn't create much washing up - two pans max, and is super tasty. This is a classic week-night pasta dish for the summer, when both tomatoes and courgettes are in season and can be picked from the garden. Like many pasta dishes, this recipe is pretty simple and relies on using quality ingredients for really good flavours. This recipe will feed two.



Ingredients

2 small/1 medium courgettes
4 medium/8 small tomatoes
1 tbsp passata
1 tsp capers (extra-fine)
1 large garlic clove
200g dried tagliatelle
sea salt
pepper
olive oil
1 small bunch of basil
1 small ball mozzarella
Parmesan cheese for grating

Heat some olive oil in a pan over a low heat. Finely chop the garlic, and add to the pan. Make sure the garlic does not burn, as it will taste bitter.

Slice the courgettes about 8mm thick, and add to the pan once the garlic has softened slightly. Allow the courgettes to cook for a couple of minutes.

Quarter the tomatoes, and add to the pan, along with the passata and the capers. The passata helps to intensify the flavour of the fresh tomatoes. Turn the heat up a little.

Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil. Once boiling, add a generous pinch of sea salt.

When the tomatoes have softened a little, add the tagliatelle to the pan of boiling water, and cook until al dente. Hopefully, the pasta and the sauce should be ready at about the same time.

If the sauce starts to look a little dry, add some water from the pasta pan. Shortly before the pasta is ready, add a glug of extra virgin olive oil to the sauce, and stir vigorously to emulsify into the sauce. The sauce should take on a pleasant sheen.

Chop the mozzarella into slices. 

Once the pasta has cooked, drain into a colander, then return to the pan.

Add the sauce and mozzarella to the pasta pan, and combine with the tagliatelle. The mozzarella should cook a little in the residual heat in the pan, but not so that it becomes tough and stringy.

Add the basil just before plating, and serve with a little grated Parmesan cheese and ground black pepper.