Spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce (pasta chue chue)

Smash a few garlic cloves, leave them whole, and put them in cold extra virgin olive oil in a skillet (a shallow dutch oven for more pasta); bring up to temperature together so the garlic infuses the oil, until lightly golden. The cloves can be removed before serving.

Halve the tomatoes.

Add the tomatoes with a healthy pinch of salt and a few basil leaves; cook about 15 minutes.

With the water already boiling, add the pasta about halfway through the sauce's cooking, when the tomatoes have 8 or 9 minutes left, so the pasta does not sit and turn gummy.

At the halfway mark turn the sauce down to low so nothing scorches and keep it at a gentle simmer while the pasta cooks to about al dente.

Drain the spaghetti well and add it to the sauce; turn off the heat, tear in fresh basil and coat the pasta.

Plate; finish with an extra drizzle of good olive oil and fresh ground black pepper. Parmesan on the side is optional.