Alex's Move It! Pasta

This is pasta stripped down to its absolute essence: spaghetti, cherry tomatoes, garlic, a hot pepper, olive oil, and basil. Six ingredients. The technique is what makes it sing.

The spaghetti gets pulled from the pot about three-quarters cooked, still stiff and chalky in the center. That undercooked pasta goes straight into the skillet with the burst cherry tomatoes and a cup of starchy pasta cooking water. Finishing the pasta in the sauce is an Italian technique that changes everything. The starch from the water emulsifies with the olive oil and tomato juices into a glossy, clingy sauce that coats every strand instead of sliding off.

The cherry tomatoes cook over high heat until they collapse and lose their shape, releasing their sweet, concentrated juice. A whole hot chili pepper sauteed with the garlic adds a gentle, slow-building heat that runs through the entire dish without being aggressive.

Pro Tips

• Save at least 2 cups of pasta water before draining. You may need more than 1 cup to keep the sauce fluid as the pasta absorbs liquid.
• Cook the garlic until it barely begins to color, not until golden. Burnt garlic tastes acrid and there’s nowhere to hide it in a dish this simple.
• Use the best extra-virgin olive oil you have. With so few ingredients, the oil’s flavor is front and center.
• Stir constantly while the pasta finishes in the skillet. This agitation is what creates the emulsified sauce.

Variations

• Add a handful of halved olives or capers with the tomatoes for a puttanesca-adjacent flavor.
• Toss in fresh arugula just before serving for a peppery, leafy contrast.