Penne with Pesto & Caprese Tomato
Whole wheat penne tossed with basil pesto, caramelized cherry tomatoes, and cubes of mozzarella that soften into the pasta right off the heat. One skillet, 15 minutes, 716 calories with 29g of protein.
This bowl has a quiet contradiction running through it. Sautéing chopped garlic in olive oil before the tomatoes hit the pan triggers a reaction that converts their lycopene into a form research found is up to 8 times better absorbed. Then the mozzarella arrives, and its calcium blocks up to 83% of that absorption. Two opposite mechanisms, same plate. Neither cancels the other completely, and what happens when both fire in the same meal is a question no single study has tested yet.
Whole wheat penne tossed with basil pesto, caramelized cherry tomatoes, and cubes of mozzarella that soften into the pasta right off the heat. One skillet, 15 minutes, 716 calories with 29g of protein.
This bowl has a quiet contradiction running through it. Sautéing chopped garlic in olive oil before the tomatoes hit the pan triggers a reaction that converts their lycopene into a form research found is up to 8 times better absorbed. Then the mozzarella arrives, and its calcium blocks up to 83% of that absorption. Two opposite mechanisms, same plate. Neither cancels the other completely, and what happens when both fire in the same meal is a question no single study has tested yet.
Ingredients
- penne, whole wheat 3 ounces
- cherry tomatoes 15
- garlic 1 clove
- mozzarella, low-moisture part skim 2 ounces
- olive oil 1 tablespoon
- pesto 1 tablespoon
- balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon
Method
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Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain, reserving a bit of the cooking water.
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Halve the cherry tomatoes and finely chop the garlic. Cut the mozzarella into cubes.
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Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for 4–5 minutes, until they begin to caramelize and soften. Season with salt and pepper.
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Stir the pesto into the pasta, then add the pasta to the skillet with the tomatoes. Mix well. If the mixture seems too dry, add a splash of the reserved cooking water.
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Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the mozzarella cubes. Gently mix until the mozzarella just starts to melt.
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Finally, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and give it one last gentle stir. Serve immediately.
Chop the garlic instead of slicing it. Chopping releases more of the sulfur compounds that, when heated in olive oil, help convert the lycopene in those tomatoes into a form research found is up to 8 times better absorbed. That one-minute sauté in Step 3 is doing more than adding flavor.
Stirring in mozzarella at Step 5 adds roughly 283 mg of calcium to this plate, enough to block up to 83% of lycopene absorption according to a 2016 study on dairy and carotenoids. Meanwhile, the garlic in Step 3 just spent five minutes converting that lycopene into a more absorbable form. Research documented both mechanisms independently. What happens when they collide in the same meal is a question neither study set out to answer.
Honda et al. (2019) – Scientific Reports · DOIWhy This Works
Behind this recipe
Does the cheese cancel out the lycopene from the tomatoes?
Partially. Research found that calcium from dairy can block up to 83% of lycopene absorption. But the garlic sautéed in olive oil in Step 3 first converts that lycopene into a form up to 8 times better absorbed, so the starting point is much higher than if you ate the tomatoes raw. No study has tested both mechanisms in the same meal, so the exact net effect is still unknown. For the full mechanism, see our Short on cheese and lycopene.
Why does the recipe say to remove from heat before adding the mozzarella?
The mozzarella melts more evenly with residual heat. Direct flame makes the cubes rubbery instead of creamy. The sautéing in Step 3 has already done its work on the tomatoes, so there is no benefit to keeping the heat on when the cheese goes in. Pulling the pan off the burner gives you the melt without the mess.
Can I use regular pasta instead of whole wheat?
Yes. The macros will shift slightly: regular penne has less fiber (this recipe gets 9g of fiber partly from the whole wheat base) and a higher glycemic index. The lycopene collision between garlic and mozzarella happens regardless of pasta type, so the research angle stays the same.
