Alright, first things first, let’s get everything ready to rock. Fill a big ol’ pot with water for your pasta and throw in a generous handful of salt – like 1-2 tablespoons. You want that water tasting like the ocean, for real! Crank up the heat to get it boiling.

While that’s heating up, grab your tomatoes and let’s get cracking. If you’re using Roma tomatoes, cut ’em in half lengthwise, scoop out most of the seeds, and chop them into chunks about the size of your thumbnail. Using round tomatoes? Score an X on the bottom, dunk them in boiling water for like 30 seconds, then plunge them into ice water. The skins will slide right off, and then you can dice away. Got cherry tomatoes on hand? Just slice those little guys in half.

Slice up the garlic nice and thin (don’t mince it – we want slices that’ll get all soft and mellow in the oil without burning). Tear up about half of the basil leaves, but keep some whole ones for topping at the end.

Grab a deep skillet and put it over medium heat. Pour in that gorgeous olive oil and once it’s shimmering and looking good, toss in your sliced garlic. Let it cook gently for about 2 minutes until it smells amazing and starts getting a little golden around the edges. Just don’t let it get too brown or it’ll taste nasty!

If you’re into a bit of heat (and who isn’t?), throw in those red pepper flakes now. Give everything a quick stir to wake up the flavors.

Now for the star of the show – dump those prepped tomatoes into the pan. Hit ’em with a pinch of salt and a few twists of black pepper. The salt helps pull out all that awesome tomato juice. Give everything a good stir to coat the tomatoes in that garlicky oil.

Crank the heat up to medium-high and let those tomatoes start breaking down, about 5-7 minutes. You’ll see them get all juicy and start releasing their liquid. Take your wooden spoon and gently smoosh some of the tomatoes against the side of the pan to help them break down more – don’t be shy with it!

By now your water should be bubbling like crazy. Toss in the pasta and cook it for about 2 minutes less than what the box says. We want it al dente (fancy talk for a little firm) because it’s gonna finish cooking in the sauce. Give it a stir right after you add it to the water so it doesn’t stick together in one big clump.

While the pasta’s doing its thing, your sauce should be reducing nicely. Adjust the heat if needed – we want a gentle simmer, not a crazy boil that’s splashing all over your stove.

Before you drain the pasta, scoop out about a cup of that starchy pasta water – trust me, this stuff is magic for our sauce! Drain the pasta but for the love of all things delicious, don’t rinse it!

Turn the heat under your sauce down to medium-low and toss in those torn basil leaves. Give it a quick stir and then dump in the drained pasta directly into the sauce. Add about 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water and the grated Parmesan. Using tongs, lift and toss the pasta to coat it evenly with the sauce. If it seems dry or clumpy, splash in a bit more pasta water.

Let the pasta finish cooking in the sauce for about 1-2 minutes, tossing it around frequently. You’ll see the sauce start to cling to the pasta and get slightly thicker. This is where the real magic happens, no joke!

Once the pasta is perfectly coated and the sauce has the right consistency, kill the heat. Divide it up among four bowls, top with the remaining fresh basil leaves, an extra drizzle of your best olive oil, and offer additional Parmesan at the table.

Serve it up hot with some crusty Italian bread and maybe a simple green salad on the side. Boom – dinner is served!