Paccheri with confit tomatoes, basil and dop buffalo mozzarella cream
You can’t find a more traditional Italian first course dish than this: pasta with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. Brought up-to-date with confit tomatoes and basil cream (recipe obtained from chef Luca Materazzi). I decided to give the buffalo mozzarella a rest :-). It was a great success: the confit tomato sauce is sweet and has a particular taste that goes perfectly with the scent of fresh basil and the savouriness of buffalo cheese.
To make the confit tomato sauce, put the cherry tomatoes in a food processor (keeping about ten aside to garnish the plate) and liquefy with a little extra virgin olive oil to obtain a smooth and creamy mixture. Strain the mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste. To make the basil cream heat a little oil in a frying pan, add the anchovies, garlic and basil. Sauté over low heat for 10 minutes, adding a tablespoon of broth or hot water every so often. Liquefy the contents of the pan with a stick blender, adding a little broth or hot water if necessary and strain the mixture.
Pour the cream in a frying pan, bring to a boil over low heat until it thickens. Boil the paccheri in plenty of salted water until al dente and drain. Keep a little of the water the pasta was cooked in. Toss in a frying pan with the confit tomatoes, adding some tablespoons of cooking water if necessary. Pour the basil cream onto a plate, arrange the paccheri and some confit tomatoes on top with some strips of buffalo mozzarella and serve at once.
