12-Minute Cherry Tomato Pasta (Pasta Sciue Sciue)

• Cook Time 12 minutes
• Servings 2
• Calories 577 kcal

Ingredients

• 6 ounces pasta (I like Casareccia, but penne, conchiglie or even spaghetti also work well)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for drizzling
• 2 medium cloves garlic sliced or crushed
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 pinch chilli flakes
• 12 ounces cherry tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup fresh basil leaves
• freshly ground salt & black pepper
• ½ cup parmesan cheese or more to taste

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta according to the cooking instructions.

2. Meanwhile, gently heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan with a lid.

3. Add the garlic, oregano, and chilli flakes to the pan and let cook until the garlic just begins to sizzle.

4. Turn the heat up to high, then add the tomatoes to the pan. Cook for a few minutes with the lid on the pan, shaking from time to time until the tomatoes are juicy and blistered.

5. Add the balsamic vinegar, most of the basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a minute or two longer.

6. Scoop out a cup of cooking water, then drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the pan and loosen the whole dish with a few splashes of the reserved cooking water.

7. Ladle the pasta into dishes, then scatter with parmesan and the rest of the basil leaves. Finally, drizzle over a little more olive oil.

Notes

• When everything is in the pan, including the pasta, add more pasta cooking water until the dish appears rich and silky. You don't want it to be watery, you want the cooking water to cling to the pasta so it's neither too dry nor too watery.