Cherry Tomato Pasta for the Height of Tomato Season

The comforting night, and the simplest dinner of the week. Cherry tomatoes go into a hot pan with olive oil and garlic and cook just until they burst - that is the whole sauce. Pasta lands in the pan with a splash of starchy water, basil and chili go in last, and torn burrata melts on top in the bowl. Five ingredients of substance, ten minutes of attention.

Prep

10 min

Cook

25 min

Total

35 min

Serves

4

Method

Stovetop

What actually matters here

• Cook the tomatoes until they actually burst. You are waiting for the moment when the skins split and the juice runs into the pan u2014 that is when it becomes sauce. Pulled too early, you have warm whole tomatoes; that is not the same dish.
• Reserve pasta water before you drain. A half cup of starchy, salty cooking water is what makes the sauce cling to the pasta instead of sliding off. Most home cooks forget u2014 keep a coffee mug by the pot.
• Tear the burrata, do not slice it. Tearing lets the cream inside run into the pasta and become part of the dish. A clean knife cut traps the cream in a neat puddle.

Ingredients

Serves 4.

Before you start

• Bring a large pot of water to a hard boil; add the salt u2014 it should taste like seawater.
• Pull the burrata out of the fridge to come to room temperature.
• Slice the garlic thinly. Pull the basil leaves from their stems.

Method

1. Drop the pasta into the boiling water. Set a timer for 2 minutes less than the package says.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a wide, deep skillet over medium-low heat. Add the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook gently for 2 to 3 minutes until the garlic is golden and the oil is fragrant u2014 do not brown.
3. Add the cherry tomatoes and the salt. Raise the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally and pressing some of the tomatoes with a wooden spoon, for 8 to 10 minutes until most of them have burst and released a glossy sauce.
4. When the pasta timer rings, reserve 1 cup of pasta water in a mug, then drain the pasta and transfer it directly into the tomato pan.
5. Toss the pasta in the tomato sauce over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, adding splashes of pasta water as needed until the sauce coats every strand glossy. Pull off the heat.
6. Stir in most of the torn basil. Divide into wide bowls. Tear the burrata over the top so the cream runs down. Drizzle with olive oil, finish with the remaining basil, flaky salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.

How you know it is right

• The tomatoes have burst u2014 skins split, flesh collapsed, juices pooling into a glossy red sauce.
• The pasta is glossy and clinging to the sauce, not sitting in a pool of plain liquid.
• The burrata is room-temperature soft, cream visibly running into the pasta on contact.
• The basil is bright green and just-wilted, not blackened.

How to serve it

Serve in wide, shallow bowls with the torn burrata still cool against the warm pasta - the contrast is part of it. A loaf of crusty bread on the table mops up the last of the tomato oil. This is also one of the few pastas that holds up well the next day cold, eaten straight from the fridge.

If you want it simpler

• Skip the burrata and finish with fresh ricotta or even cottage cheese u2014 different but in the same creamy-cool family. Burrata is the star, but the dish still works without it.
• A 28-oz can of good whole peeled tomatoes (San Marzano), crushed by hand, stands in if cherry tomatoes are out of season.

Burst, toss, tear burrata, eat now.

This dish came from the SEASON plan for June 1 - 7, 2026, alongside nine other dinners and one shopping list.

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Written and tested by Chef Michael Rossi, who has spent thirty years in professional kitchens including Napa Rose, THE RANCH, The Masters at Augusta National, and The Beach Club. Every SEASON recipe is one he has cooked on a real line before it reaches a home kitchen.