I was thinking about making a light summer salad and saw a caprese salad made with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. I decided to combine tomatoes and cheese with spaghetti to make a vegetarian pasta salad.

The juicy tomatoes, creamy mozzarella and fragrant basil made a great accompaniment for the spaghetti in this quick and easy dinner. You can serve it when it’s made or later at room temperature.

Chopped walnuts or almonds can be used instead of pistachio nuts.

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Caprese Spaghetti Pasta Salad

INGREDIENTS

4 ounces whole wheat spaghetti

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 cup sliced onion

4 crushed garlic cloves

3 teaspoons olive oil, divided use

4 cups fresh tomato cubes, about 1/2 to 1-inch pieces

6 ounces mozzarella cheese cut into 1/2 to 1-inch pieces

1 cup fresh basil torn into bite-size pieces

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup pistachio nuts

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the spaghetti, stir and boil 8 minutes or according to your package instructions. Drain. Meanwhile heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the oregano, onion and garlic. Saute 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until they give off their juice, about 5 minutes.

Add the drained pasta to the skillet and toss well. Add the basil, cheese, pistachios and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat. Mix the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil and balsamic vinegar together. Add to the skillet and toss well with all the ingredients. Divide between two dinner plates.

Yield 2 servings. Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

Linda Gassenheimer is the author of over 30 cookbooks, including her newest, “The 12-Week Diabetes Cookbook.”/Tribune News Service