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This recipe came from my sister-in-law who has edited and written many cookbooks. It’s very simple and may not look like much but tastes exquisite.

You need:
3-8 garden fresh tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
Salt
Handful of basil leaves
1 pound pasta with whorls or wrinkles

Boil water to make the pasta. Before you put the pasta in, plunge each tomato in the boiling water for a few seconds, then move to cold water to loosen the skin. Peel. If you like, remove the seeds. Chop tomatoes. Set them in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Let them sit.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water you just used, or wait and do it later.

In a mortar and pestle, grind up a clove or two of garlic with a half teaspoon of salt. Throw in a few chopped-up basil leaves and bruise those. Stir that mash into the tomatoes, and cut some more basil leaves into the bowl. The longer this sits the more intense the juices become.

Once the pasta’s ready, just put it together with the tomatoes and stir. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Summer’s good.