Spaghetti with Olive Oil, Garlic, and Cherry Tomatoes

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: 1
Spiciness: 0
Number of Servings: 4

An incredibly simple, juicy, and quickly prepared pasta dish. An excellent choice for a quick weekday meal.

Place a pot with a large amount of water for cooking pasta on the stove. Just before it boils, add salt to increase the boiling intensity. Add the spaghetti to the salted boiling water and cook until it softens but remains "al dente" or firm to the bite.
While the spaghetti is cooking, wash the cherry tomatoes and peel and finely chop the garlic. Cut larger tomatoes into quarters, leave smaller ones whole, or halve them. Heat olive oil in a large pan. Add the garlic and quickly sauté it (just enough to release its aroma), then add the cherry tomatoes to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes or until the tomatoes soften slightly.
Just before draining the spaghetti, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water to the pan with the tomatoes. Add the drained spaghetti and mix everything well. Remove the pan from the heat and serve the pasta on plates. Garnish with basil and sprinkle with any cheese of your choice (grated Parmesan or Pecorino, feta cheese, ricotta, etc.). Serve the prepared dish.

When cooking, follow the rule of using 1 liter of water for every 100 grams of pasta. For every liter of water, use 10 to 12 grams of salt.