Favorite Comfort Food

I wanted to share with you my favorite comfort food recipe.

Since our Summer was really chilly here,
I think we made this for dinner once a week.
That is how much we love it!
It is so delicious, fresh and easy.

Thank you Ina Garten.

The secret is finding fresh pasta and cherry tomatoes.

Instead of capellini pasta we use linguine, 

but as long as it is fresh it doesn't really matter.

Capellini with Tomatoes and Basil Image via House Beautiful

What I love is that after a long day at work, I can make a delicious meal in 30 minutes from start to finish. 

Here is the recipe. I have noted the modifications we make.

½ cup good olive oil, plus extra for the pasta pot

2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)

4 pints small cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes

18 large basil leaves, julienned

2 tablespoons chopped fresh curly parsley

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

¾ pound dried capellini or angel hair pasta (We use fresh linguine pasta.)

1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (We like the taste of Pecorino Romano cheese in this recipe better. It makes it less salty.)

Extra chopped basil and grated Parmesan for serving

1 Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add two tablespoons of salt and a splash of oil to the pot.

2 Meanwhile, heat the ½ cup of olive oil in a large (12-inch) sauté pan. Add the garlic to the oil and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley, thyme, two teaspoons salt, the pepper, and red pepper flakes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for five to seven minutes, tossing occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to soften but don't break up.

3 While the tomatoes are cooking, add the capellini to the pot of boiling water and cook for two minutes, or according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water.

4 Place the pasta in a large serving bowl, add the tomatoes and Parmesan, and toss well. Add some of the pasta water if the pasta seems too dry. Serve large bowls of pasta with extra basil sprinkled on top and a big bowl of extra Parmesan on the side.

Enjoy with a good glass of wine!