Caprese chicken pasta

One of the first things that made me fall in love with Jon was sharing a homemade caprese salad with him… — a simple dish of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil leaves, topped with olive oil, salt, and pepper, eaten with crusty bread and wine. How could I resist a man who made me such a delicacy? (Plus, back in the late 1990s he was so Euro-hip! See photo.) Now, all three of us just fell in love with this new version as a main course, which I improvised based on “Shells with grilled chicken and mozzarella”:http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=b5b7a6c060b23110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=shells%20grilled%20chicken%20mozzarella&rsc=ns2006_r1 from the July/August 2007 issue of “Everyday Food”:http://everydayfoodmag.com/ magazine. It’s easy, delicious, and perfect for summer! And we have reports that that young gourmand, “Simon D”:http://ramonamae.com/, has given it his “golden high chair” seal of approval.

h2. Caprese chicken pasta

1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
coarse salt and ground pepper
vegetable oil (for grill)
8 ounces medium pasta shells
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
4 ounces perlini (tiny pearls of fresh mozzarella cheese, may be substituted with chopped large fresh mozzarella)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (for pasta). Meanwhile, heat grill on high and lightly oil grates. If the chicken breasts are large, fillet them, slicing them in half lengthwise so that you have two skinny, flat pieces of chicken for each breast. Season chicken with salt and pepper and grill until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from grill and slice into thin strips, cutting long strips into bite-sized pieces if needed. (You can grill the chicken up to two days beforehand, if you’d like. Let it cool and refrigerate, but then bring the chicken to room temperature before adding to the pasta.)

Cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta and return to the pot. Add chicken, tomatoes, perlini mozzarella, parmesan, and butter; toss to combine. Add reserved pasta water a little at a time to create a sauce that coats shells (you probably won’t need all the water). Add basil, season with salt and pepper, and give it another good stir. Serve warm in bowls with fresh, crusty bread, a green salad, and a nice chianti.

Buon appetito!