Monday dinner, October 20

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Tonight I went to a Asian cooking class at MATC downtown with a new instructor, Chef Ng. We didn't participate for the most part but watched him prepare a Vietnamese dish of noodles, stir fried vegetables, and beef in a sauce. It was quite good, but he doesn't believe in recipes so it would be next to impossible to duplicate the recipe. But since I'm a senior citizen it costs me next to nothing to take the class. I got to take a little bit home for Arthur but I knew it wouldn't be enough for him.

I prepared Pasta with Uncooked Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Sauce
(adapted from a Food Network recipe)

3/4-1# ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves, chopped coarse
1/4 pound mozzarella, diced
2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound dried shaped-pasta of choice, I used macaroni

In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, garlic, basil, mozzarella, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and let the sauce stand, covered at room temperature for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours. If you don't have time to do this, its still very tasty. Just before serving, in a kettle of boiling salted water cook the pasta until it is al dente, drain it well, and add to the sauce. Toss the pasta well with the sauce. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

This is a very easy dish to make when you have fresh tomatoes available. Arthur loved it and there were no leftovers.

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