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Tomato Basil Pasta

Ingredients

  • 4.5 oz dry penne noodles
  • 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 4-5 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup pasta water, plus more if needed
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium low heat. Add garlic. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute.
  2. Add tomatoes, basil, salt and sugar. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 25 minutes.
  3. While tomatoes simmmer, begin boiling water to cook the pasta. Add plenty of salt to the pasta water.
  4. Uncover and cook another 10-15 minutes until tomatoes are cooked down and sauce-like. Taste and add more salt or sugar if needed.
  5. Boil the pasta so that it will be ready at the same time as the sauce (Penne takes 11 minutes for al dente).
  6. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked pasta into the saucepan with the tomato sauce.
  7. Add 1/3 cup of the remaining pasta water into the sauce and stir everything together. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the pasta has soaked up the water.
  8. Uncover and toss the pasta. If it's still watery, cook with the lid off for another minute. Alternately, if the pasta sauce isn't loose enough, add a little bit more water and toss.
  9. Add in parmesan cheese. Toss to combine.
  10. Serve with extra parmesan cheese and garnish with more fresh basil.