Garlic and Lemon Infused Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Basil

By adding different ingredients to the pasta water it created pasta with a wonderful infused flavor! With a few more simple ingredients a great side dish was on the table quickly. I used a mix of tomatoes, but you can choose to use one kind and you can mix it up by adding additional vegetables of your choice or grilled chicken or cooked seafood for a complete meal. If wanting a bolder flavor, add more garlic to the pot or use garlic infused olive oil instead of the extra virgin olive oil. Dish it up your way and enjoy! Serves 4.

Ingredients

1 quart of water
1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
2 cloves of garlic grated over the pot with a micro plane or grater
Half of a lemon zested (use a micro plane if you have one), and juice and place lemon into pot
1/4 lb. of spaghetti about half of a 14 oz. box of spaghetti
1/2 cup of red cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
1/2 cup of yellow cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
1/4 cup of basil cut using the chiffonade technique
2 tablespoons of good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of basil cut using the chiffonade technique
Fresh grated parmesan cheese

Technique

In a large pot, add Kosher salt, grate the garlic over the pot using a micro plane or grater and zest of half of a lemon as well. Squeeze lemon juice into the pot removing any seeds and add lemon to the pot as well. Cover and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Add pasta and cook pasta per package instructions. Prep remaining ingredients. Drain pasta, add tomatoes and toss with olive oil, top with remaining ingredients and serve.

Suggested Beverage

Try The Reserve [yellow tail] by Casella Wines (Australia), Fleur du Cap Chardonnay (Western Cape, South Africa), Procrastinate Chardonnay (California), Skinny Dip New Belgium Brewing (Ft. Collins, CO) or Paulaner Hefe-Weizen (Germany) with lemon wedges.