Dinner Tonight
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[Photograph: Nick Kindelsperger]

About the author: Nick Kindelsperger is the editor of Serious Eats: Chicago. He loves tacos and spicy food. You can follow him as @nickdk on Twitter.

Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!

About This Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 slices crusty bread, torn into small pieces
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 16 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 3 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 pints Sun Gold cherry tomatoes or other small cherry tomatoes, whole
  • 1 pound small shaped pasta (I used trofie)

Procedures

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, add bread pieces to a food processor, and process until fine crumbs are formed, about 10 seconds. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 10-inch stainless steel skillet over medium until shimmering. Add crumbs and stir until evenly coated in the oil. Cook, stirring often, until bread crumbs are golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl. Toss with a quarter of the sliced basil and season with salt and pepper.

  2. Wipe out skillet. Heat butter and remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until butter is melted. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook until garlic is lightly browned, about 1 minute. Raise heat to medium-high, and add tomatoes and half the shredded basil. Stir well. Cook until all the tomatoes have burst open, and a light sauce begins to form, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

  3. Cook pasta to al dente according to the directions on the packaging. Reserve a 1/4 cup of pasta water, and then drain in the colander. Add pasta to the skillet with tomatoes and toss well. Turn heat to high, pour in half of the reserved pasta water, and cook until sauce is thick. If too dry, add more of the pasta water.

  4. Serve pasta with a sprinkling of bread crumbs and the remaining basil.