Part of my Simple Summer Supper Series, Spaghetti with Fresh Cherry Tomato Sauce is spaghetti pasta topped with luscious, nutritious, fresh summer cherry tomatoes and sweet aromatic basil made into a light but full-flavored cherry tomato pasta sauce and then garnished with nutty, savory parmesan cheese.
Cook pasta according to the directions on the package to the al dente stage.
While the pasta is cooking, place a large skillet over medium heat and add 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the garlic is soft. If it looks like the garlic is turning brown, turn the heat down.
Add the cherry tomatoes to the garlic and cook until the tomatoes start to burst. When they are soft and starting to burst, you can gently press down on the tomatoes with a fork or wooden spoon to speed up the process.
Continue cooking the tomatoes until their juices have formed a sauce which should take approximately five minutes.
Stir in the chopped basil and season with one teaspoon of salt and one-half teaspoon of pepper.
When the pasta is done, reserve one cup of the pasta water and drain.
Add the pasta to the tomato sauce and increase the heat to medium-high. Toss the spaghetti with the tomato sauce mixture and add the reserved pasta water.
When the pasta water is integrated with the sauce, and everything is mixed together, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil.
Serve immediately and top with a generous amount of grated parmesan cheese.