This Spaghetti in Cherry Tomato Sauce recipe will prove to be your holy grail when it comes to making the quickest, easiest, most flavourful and authentic pasta. You can whip this dish up in less than 20 minutes with the most minimal ingredients as a quick meal fix for yourself, or make it for a romantic date night or for your friends and family and be ready to get your share of praises for this delightful authentic Italian dish. You have to give it a try!
This spaghetti in cherry tomato sauce recipe does not require a whole list of ingredients, but the most basic, minimum and easily available at home ingredients. Just the basic onion, garlic and cherry tomatoes with some Italian herbs is all it takes to create this masterpiece. Once your spaghetti is cooked to perfection, it hardly takes 10 minutes to put this dish together. Being a big fan of a good wholesome plate of pasta, I end up making this recipe at least once a week, especially on days I’m low on energy and just want to whip up something quick and delicious.
As spaghetti is one of the variants of pasta that does not absorb the sauces as much as others, it is more often than not, cooked in an oil based or a tomato based sauce. In most pasta recipes that call for spaghetti, most of its flavour relies on the oil/fat used, the kind of tomatoes (if used- the level of sweetness differs based on the type of tomatoes used), the way the garlic is cooked (because the concentration of the garlic-y flavour in the sauce depends on the style of cooking- simmering garlic on a low heat till it becomes golden results in releasing its maximum flavour in the sauce) and the herbs used.
Cherry tomato are slightly higher in fructose content, hence provide certain sweetness to the pasta. They are cooked till they pop open and release all their delicious juices in the sauce. The cherry tomatoes are unpeeled and cooked whole, which provides a tangy bite here and there along with a beautiful pop of colour to this spaghetti in cherry tomato sauce.
One of the best things about this spaghetti in cherry tomato sauce apart from the fact that it is super quick, wholesome and packed with flavours is- you cannot go wrong with this! Once you know how to boil the spaghetti (or any pasta) to perfection, this will be your fool proof weeknight dinner when the heart craves Italian!
How to Cook the Perfect Pasta Every Single Time!
Pasta making is easy with packaged pasta, but even the simplest of things require tips and tricks. Here are my tricks you can use to make gourmet, restaurant like pasta at home, every single time.
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Bring Sufficient Water to a Roaring Boil
It is very important to have enough water in the pan to properly drown the pasta- Lesser volume of water may result into it getting extremely starchy; and bring it to a roaring boil before adding your pasta- the boiling water agitates the pasta pieces, thus helping them cook more evenly, keep them separated from one another and avoid clumps.
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Add Salt, not oil
A very common mistake a lot of people make is adding oil to their pasta water in order to keep them from sticking to one another. However, this is completely false, as the only thing that can keep pasta from sticking is ample amount of water and a rolling boil, and hence is a waste of oil. Adding salt to the pasta water ensures that the pieces/strands of pasta do not remain bland while the only flavour and seasoning is in the sauce, because no one likes to bite into a pasta that has all the flavours in the sauce and none into those spaghetti strands.
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Save some pasta water
Saving a couple ladles of pasta water goes a long way. Not only does the salty pasta water help flavour your sauce, it also plays a major role, along with butter and olive oil, to bring that glossy magical finish to your pasta.
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Cook according to package instructions
There is no universal rule to cook the perfect pasta, it completely depends on the brand or product you are using and it is advisable to cook as per the packet instructions; especially timing. The most common way to cook pasta is till al dente, which loosely translates to “to the bite/tooth”, means almost cooked but not completely cooked. However, the above tips ensure getting the perfectly cooked pasta every single time.
Now that you know all the tips and tricks on how to make the perfect pasta, let’s take a look at the recipe to this spaghetti in cherry tomato sauce.
Preparation time – 10 minutes
Cook time – 15 minutes
Serves – 3 people
Ingredients
- 200 grams spaghetti
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium sized red onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp butter
- 300 grams cherry tomatoes
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp chilli flakes (adjust as per your liking)
- 10-12 fresh Italian basil leaves
- Fresh cilantro or parsley, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup Grated parmesan cheese
- Salt to taste
Directions
- Bring about 2 liters of water in a wide mouthed pot to a rolling boil.
- Once the water starts boiling, add a handful of salt and mix well. We add the salt in order to season the spaghetti strands.
- Now, add the spaghetti and cook till al dente as per packet instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Heat olive oil and butter in a pan. Keep the heat at low and add the garlic.
- Cook the garlic patiently at the lowest possible heat till it releases all its flavors into the oil and has turned golden brown. Do not burn.
- Add the finely chopped onions and cook till they become transparent. Prevent it from browning.
- At this point, add the unpeeled whole Cherry Tomatoes and sauté for just about thirty seconds in low heat, till they just start to blister, pop open and start to release their juices in the sauce. Slightly mash the tomatoes with a spatula to get maximum flavor.
- Add the reserved salty pasta water followed by the cooked spaghetti, cilantro/parsley and chili flakes and toss with the help of a pair of tongs till well combined. Keep the heat low at all times.
- Splash a ladle full of remaining pasta water to add in the extra glaze to the spaghetti strands.
- Adjust the seasoning if required.
- Take it off the heat and throw in a handful of fresh Italian Basil leaves.
- Top with a good amount of Parmesan Cheese (adjust as per taste because there’s no such thing as too much cheese!) and serve hot!
Additional Tips
As letting the cooked pasta sit out for too long is not advisable, boiling the pasta simultaneously while making the sauce can be a good way to go about it. Since most pasta sauces take about 5 minutes to cook, you should put the pasta to boil slightly before starting up your sauce.
Eat your pasta hot, a cold pasta will never taste as good as fresh pasta off the pan!
I hope you’ll try this quick, easy and very very flavourful spaghetti in cherry tomato sauce and make your boring dinner nights delightful.
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