This Angel Hair Pasta with Cherry Tomato Sauce is so quick and easy! Ready in about 20 minutes and SO GOOD! Best with fresh summery cherry tomatoes.
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
Every once in a while I improvise a pasta dinner that I like so much I end up making it twice in a week. That’s what happened with this recipe.
To say the sauce is quick isn’t quite the point. It’s practically instantaneous. This is one of those surprising meals that’s more than the sum of its parts.
Angel Hair Pasta is sometimes referred to as Capellini or Capelli d’Angelo – either is fine. If you can’t find angel hair, use thin spaghetti, sometimes called spaghettini. All these different noodles cook in minutes.
You will need two pints of blended cherry tomatoes. Prick them with a knife so their juices don’t splatter all over you as they cook. Four minutes in a hot pan makes them a little sassy and deliciously intense.
CONTINUE READING:
Put the pasta with the tomatoes and basil leaves directly into the pan and sprinkle some parmesan on top. You can serve this quick and pretty pasta dish right out of the pan. Again and again.
Angel Hair Pasta with quick cherry tomato sauce
If you’re good at multitasking, start the sauce as soon as the pasta goes into the pot so everything comes together at about the same time. If that feels stressful, cook the pasta first, then start the sauce. Either way, dinner will be ready in no time!
For a fancier presentation, if you’re serving this at a dinner party, remove half of the tomatoes before tossing them in with the pasta. Arrange the pasta and top with the reserved tomatoes.
ingredients
-
2 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
-
1 lb angel hair paste (Capellini or Capelli d’Angelo) or other thin spaghetti
-
4 tablespoon olive oil
-
2 pints red and yellow cherry tomatoes
-
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
-
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
-
2 cloves garliccut very thin
-
1 Cup fresh basil leavesremoved from the stems
-
1 Cup grated parmesan cheese
method
-
Cook pasta:
In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil with 2 tbsp salt. Add the pasta and stir well until the water boils again.
Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the noodles are tender. Using a ladle or heatproof liquid measuring cup, scoop out about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and set aside.
Drain pasta but do not rinse; pour into a bowl. Drizzle with 1 tbsp oil and toss well.
-
Prepare tomatoes:
Prick small whole tomatoes with a skewer or the tip of a paring knife. Halve the tomatoes when they are large.
-
Make the sauce:
In a deep skillet over medium-high heat, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Add the cherry tomatoes—they will splutter—along with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, red pepper, and black pepper.
Cook, shaking the pan, for 2 to 3 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to collapse and juices are formed. Add the garlic and cook another 2 minutes.
-
Toss the pasta with the sauce:
Add the pasta and 1/4 cup of the pasta water to the pan with the tomato sauce. Throw well.
If needed, add more pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, to thin the mixture so the sauce coats the pasta. Add half of the basil leaves and toss again.
-
Surcharge:
Divide the noodles among 4 to 6 large bowls. Add a few basil leaves to the pasta and sprinkle generously with Parmesan.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 285 | calories |
| 14g | Fat |
| 30g | carbohydrates |
| 10g | protein |
