SEASHELL PASTA W/ FRESH TOMATO BUTTER SAUCE & CREAMY BURRATO

This was #1 pasta out of two that were passed around the 30 person seated dinner party at my parents 40th anniversary party.  I have posted this pasta recipe before, but it is my families all time favorite; therefore it deserves a second posting!  You start by making a super simple tomato butter sauce.  Make the pasta al'dente and place in a large pasta bowl.  In the center of the pasta place diced up burrato  mozerella cheese.  Ladle some piping hot sauce over the top which slightly melts the cheese and the cream just pours out of the cheese.  I have an embarassing confession to make.  The first time I bought burrato cheese was by accident at Costco.  I was having a large family party and I meant to buy fresh mozerella that was to be used for eggplant parmesan.  When the day of the party came and I was making the eggplant parmesan, I cut into the mozerella cheese and all this white, creamy liquid came pouring out.  I tried another mozerella ball and the same thing happened.  I opened a whole secocond package and the same thing happened to all the mozerella balls.  Well, I just thought Costco had put out a really bad batch of mozerella cheese.  I returned both large packages the following day and told customer service that it was a bad batch of mozerella.  What is embarassing is that the cheese was actually Burrato, a form of mozerella that has a yummy fresh cream and creamy strips of soft mozerella in the center.  When you cut into the ball the cream and cheese come pouring out.  Long story short....when the tomato sauce hits the creamy cheese you have heaven in a bowl!!!!!


SEASHELL PASTA & FRESH MOZERELLA WITH TOMATO BASIL BUTTER SAUCE

• 1 lb. medium seashell shaped pasta
• 1 recipe for my Tomato Basil Butter Sauce (see recipe below)
• 3 (8 oz. each) Burrato mozerella cheese balls or fresh mozerella cheese balls from deli - cut up into 1 inch pieces.
• 2 TB. fresh basil for garnish

1. Boil some salted water. Add pasta and cook until al'dente.
2. Drain and rinse pasta.
3. In the meantime - place about 2 cups of hot Tomato Basil Butter sauce in the bottom of a large pasta bowl. Add the pasta to sauce and mix well. Add about another cup or so of sauce to top of pasta and stir well.
4. Form a little "well" or hole 1/2 way through the middle of the pasta. Add the fresh mozerella cheese to the hole.
5. Ladle some sauce around the mozerella cheese. Garnish top with some fresh basil. Serve immediately while it is nice and hot with some fresh italian bread and a side of sauce.

TOMATO BASIL BUTTER SAUCE

• 2 TB. olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 (32 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 (14 oz. ) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 TB. chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 stick of butter
• salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add garlic and saute for about 3 minutes.
2. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and water. Stir well and simmer for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the fresh basil, butter and seasoning. Simmer for half hour to 45 minutes stirring often.
4. Serve over pasta.