Cherry Tomato Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 3 pints cherry tomatoes (I like to use an assortment)

• 6 cloves of garlic, smashed & roughly chopped

• 1 whole dried chili, broken up (or 1 tsp crushed chili pepper)

• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

• 2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 4 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon honey or sugar

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan

• 2 tablespoon butter

• Pasta of your choice

RECIPE

1. Sauté garlic in olive oil on a low flame in a large frying pan, until soft & fragrant.

2. Add crushed chili & sauté for a few more minutes.

3. Add two pints of tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of salt & pepper to the pan. Bring flame to medium/high heat.

4. Cook until juices of tomatoes start to release. As this happens, start to pop and smash tomatoes to continue to create the sauce.

5. Cook for about 15 minutes until sauce starts to thicken. If it is cooking to fast, turn the flame down.

6. At this point, taste your sauce. I usually add a teaspoon of sugar or honey to mellow out the acidity of the tomatoes. You might also want to add more salt.

7. When sauce starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, turn the flame to simmer. Cover the sauce while leaving a little part of the pan open. I usually use a piece of aluminum foil.

8. Bring a large pot of water to a boil & add a good handful of salt. Add whatever type of pasta you prefer. I think a thin spaghetti is perfect for this sauce.

9. Once your pasta is cooking, add the third pint of tomatoes to the pan with the sauce.

10. When your pasta is al dente, take the pasta right out of the pot (without draining) and add it to the sauce. You want to take in some of the pasta water to the pan.

11. Gently mix the pasta & sauce. The rest of your tomatoes will start to breakdown.

12. Mix in the torn basil.

13. Add about another 1/4 cup of pasta water to the pan. If it seems too thick or dry, you can add more.

14. Stir in the parmesan & mix well.

15. Right before serving, add the butter. Mix it gently through the pasta. This creates a silky texture to the sauce (I actually think this what makes the sauce amazing!).

16. Serve with extra parmesan & crushed chili pepper.