Your favorite pasta mixed with fresh campari tomatoes, mushrooms, basil and garlic makes a simple and deliciously quick weeknight meal.

Pasta is one of those items that most of us have in our pantry for those times when you're looking for a quick meal. It's so versatile, comes in a lot of shapes and everyone has their favorite!

This Pasta with Mushroom Pomodoro serves 4, was delicious, so easy to make and dinner was ready in under 30 minutes.

Whether you call it sauce or gravy, making pasta with fresh tomatoes is so refreshing and light.

What is Mushroom Pomodoro?

Pomodoro in Italian means 'tomato' and refers to a sauce made with olive oil, fresh tomatoes and basil. It's lighter than a typical marinara sauce or ragú and generally much quicker to make.

Therefore, mushroom pomodoro is a sauce made with mushrooms and fresh tomatoes.

What are Campari Tomatoes?

Campari tomatoes are deep red in color, not mealy and super juicy. They are smaller and rounder than plum tomatoes; yet larger than cherry tomatoes.

These tomatoes are commonly sold in the supermarket as 'Tomato on the Vine', have a higher sugar level and not as acidic as their counterparts.

Suggested Equipment

Ingredients Needed

For this recipe you'll need the following ingredients:

Pasta: You'll need 8 ounces of dry pasta which will make 4 cups cooked. We used Campanelle pasta; which is a medium sized pasta that is shaped like a cone with a ruffled edge.

You can use any pasta you'd like in this recipe, just cook al dente according to the package directions. Some other great choices would be fettuccine, fusilli, gemelli, gnocchi, cavatelli or even tortellini.

As a guide, 8 ounces is about ½ box or 2 cups of dry store bought pasta.

Salt

Mushrooms: You can use any mushrooms in this recipe; however, we used baby Portobello mushrooms. Whatever mushroom you use, quarter them to get meaty chunks instead of sliced mushrooms; which may reduce too much and you won't appreciate the flavor.

Campari Tomatoes: If you can't find campari tomatoes, a good substitute would be halved cherry tomatoes. They're a bit smaller, but still as juicy.

Chopped Fresh Basil: There is nothing more fragrant than fresh basil; which really adds a light flavor to this dish. If you have to, you can use dried basil or even prepared pesto.

Minced Garlic

Red Pepper Flakes: Add as much or as little as you like. We prefer ours on the mild side and even with just ¼ teaspoon it was a bit on the spicy side!

Pecorino Romano Cheese (optional): In our family, everything tastes better with cheese. We topped our pasta with some shaved Pecorino Romano cheese and it was fabulous!

How do you make Pasta with Mushroom Pomodoro?

Start by bringing a large pot of water with a few dashes of salt to a boil over high heat; then cook the pasta al dente according to package directions as time may vary depending on the pasta used. When the pasta is ready, drain in a colander.

While the pasta is cooking you can prepare the pomodoro sauce. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat; then add the mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic, basil and red pepper.

Sauté for approximately 10 minutes or until the mushrooms have softened slightly and the tomatoes have burst open. Lower the heat to keep warm until the pasta is cooked.

Add the cooked pasta to the skillet, mix well; then place in a pasta bowl and top with cheese if desired.

Additions

Since this is a meatless recipe, you can add some cooked protein like grilled chicken, shrimp or even leftover steak. Serve alone or with some garlic bread and a salad.

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