Caprese Pasta

Gather the ingredients.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

While the water comes to a boil, prepare the tomatoes: Halve the tomatoes crosswise, squeeze excess juice from the tomatoes into a bowl large enough to hold the pasta once it's cooked, chop the tomatoes, and add the chopped tomatoes to their juices in the bowl.

Peel and mince the garlic if you want to use it, and add it to the tomatoes. Pour in the olive oil to tomatoes and toss to combine.

Remove the leaves from the basil stems, stack them up, and cut them crosswise into ribbons.

Add three-quarters of the basil to the tomatoes; set aside the rest to use as a garnish.

Dice the mozzarella. Add half of the mozzarella to the tomatoes (it will melt a bit with the pasta) and reserve the rest to add at the end.

Add enough salt to the boiling water to make it taste as salty as the sea (about 1 tablespoon salt to 2 quarts of water). Seriously, you want the water seasoned enough so that the pasta gets a bit of seasoning as it cooks and brings it to the whole dish.

When the water boils, add the pasta and cook it until it's tender to the bite. Drain and quickly add the pasta to the bowl with the tomato mixture in it. Toss well to combine everything thoroughly—the heat from the pasta will melt the cheese a bit, the pasta will absorb a bit of the tomato juices, and the tossing will help emulsify the tomato juice and olive oil into a real sauce.

Divide the pasta between 4 to 6 servings bowls and top with the remaining mozzarella and garnish with the remaining basil.

Serve and enjoy.