Cherry tomato and basil pasta

5 from 9 votes

A weeknight pasta special that will have the whole family celebrating.

Prep Time2

Cook Time7

Servings:

Cook pasta: Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to the boil. Follow the instructions on the back of the pasta packet for al dente pasta and drain your pasta 1 - 2 minutes before the suggested cooking time. Reserve up to 1/2 cup of pasta water.
Sauce: While the pasta cooks, prepare the sauce. In a large frypan, bring the olive oil to heat. Add the garlic cloves to the oil and cook for 2 - 3 minutes or until slightly golden. Add the cherry tomatoes to the frypan and cook for 7 - 10 minutes or until they have burst open and create a jammy sauce. Season with a generous amount of salt and pepper and stir through the chilli flakes if using.
Garlic: Remove the garlic from the sauce and mash into a paste with the back of a large knife. Add the garlic back to the sauce and stir through.
Add pasta and herbs: On a low heat, toss the pasta through the sauce while slowly incorporating the pasta water until you have a silky and glossy sauce. You may not need all the pasta water so do this step slowly. Turn the heat off and stir through two thirds of the basil.
Serve: Sprinkle over the cheese and remaining fresh basil. Finish off with a drizzle of olive oil and serve immediately.

Cherry tomatoes – You want them ripe, soft and juicy. The older they are, the sweeter and more jammy your sauce will be. Leave them sitting on your kitchen bench for a few days before using! You can slice the tomatoes in half to speed up cook time but this is not necessary!

Good quality olive oil – This is what brings the whole sauce together. Use the best one you’ve got because it really makes all the difference!

Fresh basil – This dish is best made in summer when tomatoes and basil are in season. The basil will be sweet and absolutely delicious! Pick the leaves off and jam pack them into a measuring cup. Easiest way to finely slice the basil leaves is to get some leaves and roll up tightly into a cigar. Then finely slice.
Garlic - There are a few options for the garlic! You can follow the recipe and cook them whole them mash them up and add them back into the sauce. You could just flavour the olive oil with them and then discard of the garlic. Or you could finely slice or mince the garlic cloves and cook them with the tomatoes for a stronger garlic flavour throughout.