Ingredients (~6 servings)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- Kosher salt
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- ~2 lbs cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 1/2 lbs spaghetti
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large handful fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
Onions Caramelized
Sauté onions in a skillet at medium heat with olive oil until they start to melt.
Once the olive oil is hot, add diced onions with salt and cover.
After 7 minutes of slow cooking, the onions should not be browned; however, they will have absorbed the olive oil and have melted comfortably.
Add Garlic and Crush Tomatoes
Along with the garlic, add crushed red pepper and halved cherry tomatoes.
Cover and cook for another 5 minutes until the tomatoes begin to break down.
Remove the cover and cook for another 5-7 minutes until the sauce has thickened significantly and the tomatoes break down into smaller chunks.
Turn off the heat while you cook the pasta.
Boil Pasta and Complete Tomato Sauce
Boil a large pot of salted water and cook spaghetti according to package directions until it is almost cooked — about one minute short, depending on pasta.
Reserve 3/4 cup of the starchy pasta water in a bowl before draining.
Adjust the temperature back to medium-high on the tomato sauce and add a half cup of the reserved starchy pasta water and quickly bring to a gentle simmer for about two minutes.
Taste the mixed sauce and adjust with more salt if desired.
Finally, gently mix in the cooked drained spaghetti and a large knob of butter into the sauce and coat everything for about a minute, giving the spaghetti a final cooking time in the sauce.
If necessary, add additional reserved starchy pasta water as needed to keep the mixture moist.
At the very end, add and mix in the torn fresh basil leaves.
Enjoy!
Cherry Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
Ingredients (~6 servings)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- Kosher salt
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- ~2 lbs cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 1/2 lbs spaghetti
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large handful fresh basil leaves roughly chopped
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
- Add diced onion and salt, cover, and cook 7 minutes until softened without browning.
- Add garlic, crushed red pepper, and halved tomatoes. Cover and cook 5 minutes.
- Uncover and cook 5-7 minutes until sauce thickens and tomatoes break down. Turn off heat.
- Boil spaghetti in salted water until 1 minute shy of al dente. Reserve 3/4 cup pasta water before draining.
- Turn heat back on under sauce, add 1/2 cup pasta water, and simmer 2 minutes.
- Add drained pasta and butter to sauce. Toss 1 minute until pasta is coated and finishes cooking.
- Toss in chopped basil before serving.
