Ingredients
- pasta, large spirals; dry300 g
- extra virgin olive oil, more if desired2 tbsp
- garlic, crushed and finely chopped; more if desired2 clove
- tomato, ripe; well-chopped; seeds and skin included, optionally removed4
- basil leaves, well-torn1 handful
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- parmesan cheese, freshly finely grated; Parmesan-style; Parmigiano Reggiano recommended4 tbsp
Quantities are auto-calculated from the original recipe as a guide. Items without numbers (e.g. “to taste”) are not changed.
Method 4 steps
Cook dry pasta in plenty of salted boiling water for 10–12 minutes. Proper cooking time should be indicated on the pasta box itself. If it's not, taste one pasta piece from time to time, and stop the cooking when it's still crispy but not tough (it should be al dente). Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking:
Heat the olive oil gently in a large frying pan or wok. When moderately hot add the garlic and gently fry until lightly coloured only. Avoid overcooking. Add the tomatoes and cook for several minutes, stirring and folding the ingredients. If there is a lot of liquid from the tomatoes, turn up the heat a little and reduce it a bit. Stir in the basil and turn the heat down.
By this time the pasta should be cooked. Turn off the heat to the pasta and use a slotted spoon to transfer the pasta to the sauce in the other pan. Don't worry if a little of the cooking water is transferred—this is a good thing as long as you don't swamp the sauce with it (you could also use a colander to drain the pasta).
Season to taste, stir and transfer to a large pasta bowl for serving. Scatter the cheese over the whole dish, reserving some for the table.