Food Recipes Linguine With Cherry Tomato Sauce 5.0 (1) 1 Review Every bite of this summery tomato pasta is studded with bites of crispy pancetta. By Ali Ramee Ali Ramee Ali Ramee has been developing and testing recipes for nearly a decade. Highlights: *Started out as a kitchen intern on America's Test Kitchen *Spent over two years as a line cook at Petit Crenn and FLOUR + WATER LLC *Spent two years as a sous chef and food stylist at Sun Basket *Is now a recipe tester at Meredith Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Updated on September 8, 2022 Print Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Greg DuPree Hands On Time: 20 mins Total Time: 30 mins Servings: 4 Jump to Nutrition Facts Every cook needs a great pasta sauce in their back pocket, and this cherry tomato version is worthy of the honor. You'll start the sauce by rendering cubes of salty pancetta, so the fat infuses every bite of the sauce. To this, you'll add thinly sliced garlic and the cherry tomatoes, which burst and sizzle in the pan. Mashing just a few of these is what allows the sauce to stick together while keeping some tomatoes for juicy explosions as you eat. Linguine is a good choice for its thicker width than spaghetti, and a generous shower of parmesan and basil adds instant depth of flavor. The result? A pasta dinner that is just eight ingredients and still tastes incredible. Ingredients 1 pound linguine 4 ounces diced pancetta 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 2 pints multicolored cherry tomatoes 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for water ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves, plus more for serving (from 1 bunch) Directions Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving ½ cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta and return it to pot. Heat a large skillet over medium. Add pancetta; cook, stirring occasionally until the fat has rendered and pancetta is crispy 8 to 9 minutes. Add oil and garlic to skillet; cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until softened slightly and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and salt; increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often, until some tomatoes have burst and tomato skins soften about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Using a wooden spoon, lightly break and mash about a third of the tomatoes to release their juices further. Add tomato mixture, cheese, and ¼ cup reserved pasta water to the pot with pasta. Cook over medium-low, stirring constantly, until sauce clings to noodles, 1 to 2 minutes, adding more pasta water if needed. Remove from heat. Add basil and stir to combine. Serve with more basil and cheese. Print Nutrition Facts (per serving) 646 Calories 20g Fat 93g Carbs 23g Protein Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Servings Per Recipe 4 Calories 646 % Daily Value * Total Fat 20g 26% Saturated Fat 7g 35% Cholesterol 26mg 9% Sodium 1077mg 47% Total Carbohydrate 93g 34% Dietary Fiber 6g 21% Total Sugars 9g Protein 23g *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.