Pasta pomodoro is super quick to whip up, taking just 20 minutes from start to finish, which is my type of meal. Requiring only
a few key ingredients, such as mozzarella balls, baby spinach, and cherry tomatoes, it was extremely easy to shop for.

However, having tried the recipe posted by home cook Nico Pallotta from The Plant Based School, I was rather disappointed.

Put it this way, if I had been served this at a restaurant, I wouldn't be impressed – and I didn't do anything wrong, promise! Okay,
the recipe could have done with fresh basil instead of dried.

But, the very next day, with no more mozzarella balls to put on top of the pasta dish, I decided to add a grating of Parmesan to melt into the dish, and it made it taste much better.

It's definitely an easy dish to whip up when you're feeling hungry, but as with most pasta dishes, you can add more ingredients to satisfy your taste buds.

Pasta pomodoro recipe

Serves: two people

Ingredients

150g penne

Extra virgin olive oil

Red pepper flakes

100g Cherry tomatoes

200g whole peeled tomatoes

Black pepper

Basil

Mozzarella balls

Baby spinach

Method

Making the sauce
Heat up some olive oil in a large pan, then add grated garlic and some red pepper flakes. Cook for one minute so it's fragrant.

Add the halved cherry tomatoes, salt, and black pepper, cook for another four minutes, then add 200g of canned whole peeled tomatoes. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Cook the pasta
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling and salted water according to the packet instructions. Once cooked, drain the pasta and reserve some pasta water, then add it to the tomato sauce.

Finishing the dish off
Add chopped fresh basil and some reserved pasta water if you want to thin the sauce, and stir in the spinach.

When ready to serve, plate up the pasta and add the mozzarella balls on top of the tomato pasta with a drizzle of olive oil and some more basil.