The perfect summer evening in New England

Whole wheat cappellini, 2 pints organic cherry tomatoes, 1 cup fresh basil leaves from the garden, 1 head of garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more at the end, 1 cup grated parmigiano reggiano, salt, and pepper.

Slice the cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise and julienne the basil (roll it up like a pencil and slice crosswise). Place both the tomatoes and the basil in a large bowl. Fine dice the garlic and add to the bowl, along with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Give everything a good mix, cover with seran wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before making the pasta.

Cook the pasta according to the directions. I like my pasta al dente. Skim about a cup of the foamy white pasta water off of the top. This has a great deal of starch in it and you will want to add it to the pasta at the end to give it more moisture and body. Drain the pasta without shaking all of the water out, thus leaving the pasta too dry. Dump the pasta into the bowl with the tomatoes and quickly stir it in before the pasta sticks to itself. Add the pasta water by the spoonful if necessary as well as extra olive oil. Now comes the Parmigiano Reggiano. Mix it in batches, coating the pasta and the tomatoes. Serve with extra grated Parmigiano and a few extra basil sprinklings on top.

From Ina Garten’s Summer Garden Pasta