Pasta Caprese

This is a perfect spring/summer dish, but cleaning the pot is kind of a pain.

Ingredients

2/3 box of shell pasta
Several sprigs of fresh basil
1 large or 2 small cloves or garlic, VERY finely chopped
1-2 medium tomatoes
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
2 T. olive oil (plus more for cooking)
Fresh ground pepper to taste


Directions

1. Boil the macaroni with olive oil and salt

2. Meanwhile, chop the basil, tomatoes, and garlic

3. When pasta is tender, drain and stir in the olive oil, basil, tomatoes, and garlic

4. Sprinkle in the cheese a little at a time; if you put it in all at once, it will all clump up on the spoon and won't spread around much on the pasta (you may still need to separate the cheese a little)

5. Add pepper at the end when it is a plate/in a bowl, otherwise it may clump up in the cheese