The simple, beautiful and fresh Caprese salad is perfection on a plate in my view. Vine-ripened tomatoes, just-picked basil, and fresh mozzarella (the colors of the Italian flag) is a flavorful combination. Orzo, which we typically used as soup pasta as I grew up, has gained enormous popularity in delis and homes everywhere as a side dish, be it hot, cold or room temperature. It would seem, then, that pairing the orzo with the Caprese would be a match made in heaven. But while hubs and I did enjoy this, we both felt it fell a little short of perfection, needing something we couldn't quite put our fingers on. Lemon juice maybe? I did leave out the red pepper flakes, and had I included it I think a teaspoon would be WAY overkill. Tip: Basil oxidizes and turns black quickly after cutting. I found that coating it with a little olive oil first helps prevent that! This was definitely a decent pasta salad, but I think maybe I just prefer my Caprese salad straight up!

Fast, simple pasta salad. Is best made fresh.

I made it the night before and while it was okay, I think it would be better to make it fresh and serve it immediately. I also found it a little bland so I served it with Balsamic vinegar and that gave it a lot more flavor. Otherwise it was excellent.

Made with penne pasta, wonderful simple & easy!

MMM...this is one of my favorite recipes! We take it to all of our summer events. Yum, yum. Add pine nuts for a little twist.