Fresh Tomato Basil Pasta

This recipe turned out much better than I expected. I mean, how many of us haven't had this type of dish in various shapes and forms a hundred times? But really, I thought this was quite tasty, one of the best of this type - and I was even excited to eat it for left-overs the next day!

I think recipes like this usually don't pack enough flavor, so I used spinach-chive fettuccine instead of normal spaghetti and made sure to add a lot of basil - maybe even double! I also had a number of extra veggies lying around, so I threw in some zucchini, mushrooms, and asparagus. All were a nice touch!

I also sauteed the veggies together beforehand since I had added in all those extra veggies. I thought it turned out great, and since there were so many flavors involved and the vegetables were mixed in with the green noodles, my kids ate a ton of the vegetables with no problem - always a good thing!

For what it was, it was 4 stars. Plus, it was so easy and used a lot of ingredients I had on hand and needed to get rid of anyway, I love those kinds of recipes!

Without further ado, you can find the recipe here or below:

Fresh Tomato Basil Pasta

2 large ripe, firm tomatoes, diced (about 2 cups)
1 Tb fresh chopped basil or 1 tsp dried basil (I doubled the basil)
1-2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
½ tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
Shredded Parmesan cheese
6-8 oz angel hair pasta ( we prefer whole wheat) (I used spinach-chive fettuccine and it worked great!)
I also added zucchini, mushrooms, and asparagus, all chopped up to a large/rough dice

Mix together the diced tomatoes, chopped basil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Let "marinate" on counter for 30 minutes. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and toss with the tomato mixture. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan. Mmmmmm