Rainbow Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes and Garlic

One of the benefits of living by yourself is that nobody can hear you let out an audible "oh my god" when you taste something you just made (but then again if you write a blog and tell everyone about it, that kind of defeats the purpose).  This happened when making the pasta dish above, because while I normally can never get enough garlic, I was impressed by how clearly the flavor came through on this one (of course, it wasn't too much - no amount could ever be. I really must try one of those garlic-themed restaurants one of these days.).

Another fun part of this dish is hearing the cherry tomatoes burst and pop as you prepare the sauce - it's almost like making popcorn on the stove.  Seeing as there's really not much more to this dish besides the garlic and tomatoes, it's incredible just how well the flavors come together - garlic softens and infuses the olive oil with an earthy savoriness, and the juice bleeds out of the burst cherry tomatoes to form a light and fresh-tasting sauce for the pasta.  I used the same rainbow pasta here as I did in my pasta salad, but this would also work great with a longer variety like angel hair.

Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes and Garlic
1 cup dry pasta
1 cup cherry tomatoes, whole
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 basil, chiffonade

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.  When water boils, add pasta, stirring occasionally.  Cook for amount of time specified on package, roughly 8 min.

Immediately after adding pasta to water, heat a large skillet over a medium flame.  When pan is hot, add olive oil and garlic and cook for 1 min, until garlic begins to soften and become fragrant.  Add cherry tomatoes and stir frequently.  Tomatoes will start to burst after 3-4 min.  Continue to cook until pasta is finished cooking and most of the cherry tomatoes have burst.

Ladle roughly 1/2 cup of the pasta water into the skillet, deglazing the dark parts on the bottom of the pan.  Drain pasta and immediately add to skillet with tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and stir in basil.  Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve cold.