As a kid, I remember my mom compiled so many recipes she’d cut out of magazines she started storing them in photo albums tucked into the corner of the kitchen where she stored all her cookbooks. Now, in the digital age, I’ve accumulated my own version kept all nice & neat in the confines of my phone. In an effort to clear things out, I’ve decided to work my way through some recipes I have saved.

With it being the height of summer, tomatoes are at their finest & my basil plant is threatening to take over like a weed so I opted for this recipe for dinner last night. Light, fresh, & fragrant, it’s a perfect summer meal.

Ingredients:

8 oz spaghetti

1 1/2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved

4 large garlic cloves

Handful of fresh basil

1/3 cup of Olive oil

1/2 cup of water

Salt

Freshly grated Parmesan/ Asiago cheese

Preparation:

Heat olive oil, in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once heated, add in the garlic cloves & cook for 1 minute to infuse the olive oil. Stir in the tomatoes, season with salt, and rip apart several basil leaves right into the mixture; stir together to incorporate. Add about a 1/2 cup water, cover & cook for 5 – 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cook spaghetti al dente, according to package instructions.

At the end of the cooking time, remove the garlic cloves from the tomato mixture, smear the cloves into a paste & stir back into tomato mixture. Drain the spaghetti, reserving a 1/2 cup pasta water. Add the spaghetti to the skillet, pour in the pasta water, drizzle with more olive oil, add in another leaf or two of freshly torn basil, mix/ toss to incorporate. Add freshly grated cheese to the top.

Enjoy!

Source: TikTok Francesco Mattana 09/18/2023