Fresh Tomato, Basil & Garlic Pasta

🛒 Ingredients

• #Pasta;
• 350 g linguine or spaghetti.. Salt — for pasta water
• #Fresh Tomato Garlic Sauce;
• 6–7 medium ripe tomatoes — diced (or 400 g cherry tomatoes, halved)
• 3–4 cloves garlic — thinly sliced or minced
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil — plus extra for drizzling
• ½ small onion — finely diced (optional)
• ¼ tsp red chilli flakes — adjust heat to taste
• ½ tsp sea salt.. ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp tomato paste — optional, for deeper colour
• 1 tbsp water — if sauce gets too thick
• #Fresh Finish;
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves — torn, plus extra whole leaves for topping
• 1 tbsp lemon juice — optional, brightens flavour
• Optional: nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan for serving

👩‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1

   Cook pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook 1 minute less than package instructions — it will finish cooking in the sauce. Reserve ½ cup starchy cooking water before draining. Do not rinse pasta!

2. 2

   Make the sauce: While pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and chilli flakes — cook 1–2 minutes until fragrant and pale golden, do NOT let it burn or turn bitter. Add onion if using — cook 3 minutes until soft.

3. 3

   Simmer tomatoes: Add diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, and tomato paste. Stir gently and simmer 8–10 minutes until tomatoes soften, release their juices, and break down into a thick, saucy consistency — leave some chunks for texture. Mash lightly with a fork if you prefer smoother sauce.

4. 4

   Combine pasta & sauce: Add hot drained pasta directly into the pan with the sauce. Toss well over low heat 1–2 minutes, adding reserved pasta water a splash at a time until sauce clings beautifully to every strand.

5. 5

   Finish with fresh basil: Remove from heat. Stir in torn fresh basil and lemon juice. Drizzle generously with extra olive oil. Taste and adjust salt or pepper.

6. 6

   Serve immediately: Plate up, top with whole basil leaves and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast if you like. Enjoy hot!