Pasta with Sweet Summer Cherry Tomatoes

August 31st, 2006

It’s the best time of year (August - October) for sweet cherry tomatoes. This is a classic Southern Italian dish and is served with fresh tomatoes, barely cooked so that their pure and wonderful flavor comes through.

Ingredients:

-2 pounds of ripe cherry tomatoes

-10 basil leaves, coarsely chopped

-1 clove of garlic, coarsely chopped

-3 tablespoons extra virgen olive

-olio nuovo or best quality extra virgen olive oil for drizzling

-salt

-pepper

-1 pound dried spaghetti pasta (servers 6-8 as a light course)

Preparation

Wash and dry your tomatoes. I like to leave 70% of them whole so that when cooked they begin to burst at the seams. Take the other 30% and cut them in half. Take a large sautee pan and sautee the garlic over medium heat until translucent, not browned. Add the tomatoes and stir over medium heat for 8-12 minutes until they have released their juices and are nearly ready to explode. Drizzle with best quality extra virgen olive oil off the heat and set aside.

Cook your pasta in salted, boiling water until al dente. Remove 2 minutes before completely cooked. Drain pasta and add to your sautee pan with tomatoes. Toss for 1-2 minutes over medium high heat. Add the basil and toss off the heat. Plate and drizzle with best quality extra virgen olive oil. Magnificent!

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