Aio e Oio with Caprese Salad

We finally got a break in the weather where it became more bearable which meant cooking on the stove wouldn’t be torture.  It has been absolutely wonderful the past several days.  I was in the mood for pasta but not for anything too complicated as it’s been very busy this week and I haven’t figured out how to clone myself.  🙂

So I thought I would do my version of Aio e Oio which is garlic and olive oil.  Seriously you could not come up with a simpler dish.  The only way to make this easier is call and make dinner reservations.  Boiling the water is the reason this takes so long!

We have a ton of thyme in the garden so I chopped up a handful as well as about 4 cloves of garlic.  Finely chop the garlic so it evenly distributes over the pasta.

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Heat up enough olive oil to coat the pasta.  You do not want this soupy or greasy.  This should have a lightness to the flavours.  Saute the garlic and thyme with some sea salt.  Don’t do this on a high heat.  I did this on medium low and was patient with it as I wanted the garlic cooked but not burnt.

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Toss in the cooked pasta.  I chose a tortellini stuffed with cheeses and prosciutto.  While keeping that warm I quickly made a caprese salad.  I really wish I had time to make my mozzarella cheese as store bought doesn’t cut it.  I sliced up fresh tomatoes and basil from our garden and drizzled with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  A great pairing with the pasta.

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The tomatoes had such a lovely red.  I love just walking by and eating them.  Delicious!

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I enjoyed this meal with a glass of sauvignon blanc.  🙂