Ziti with Asparagus, Smoked Mozzarella and Prosciutto

All I have to say is YUM! This has to be one of my favorite Giada dishes for a couple of reasons. 1) It's light - there are no heavy sauces, not a lot of oil and you can even scale back on the prosciutto if you really want to (although I never do!) 2) It's quick - I can throw this nice meal together during the week without spending hours slaving over a hot stove 3) It's pretty - if you're entertaining, people will definitely like the looks of this meal and probably even ask you for the recipe. And come on...who the heck doesn't like asparagus, smoked mozzarella and prosciutto?

Ingredients:
Salt
8 ounces dried ziti or other tubular pasta
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
3 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese, diced (about 1/2 cup)
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut crosswise into strips
3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ziti and cook for 7 minutes, stirring often. Add the asparagus and cook until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, and the asparagus is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain the pasta and asparagus, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over a medium flame. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the pasta, asparagus, 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and the 1 cup of reserved cooking liquid, and toss to coat. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the mozzarella, prosciutto, and basil and toss to combine. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the pasta to shallow bowls and serve.

*Note - you can use regular mozzarella but I highly recommend buying smoked if you can. It can be found with all the imported cheese in the deli section of your grocery store.