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1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.
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2
Put the butter or oil in an 8- or 10-inch skillet over medium heat.
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3
When the butter melts or the oil is hot, add the tomatoes and turn the heat to high.
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4
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to juice up, then turn the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens.
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5
Cook the pasta until it is tender but firm.
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6
Drain and toss with the tomatoes and cheese.
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7
Season with salt and pepper to taste, toss again, and serve immediately.
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8
Add about 1 teaspoon minced garlic to the butter or oil, just before the tomatoes.
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9
Garnish with minced fresh parsley instead of Parmigiano-Reggiano.
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10
Add about 1 tablespoon minced shallot to the butter or oil.
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11
Cook the tomatoes with a couple of branches of basil, remove them before serving, and stir about 1/2 cup or more roughly chopped basil leaves into the pasta.
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12
Toss the pasta with about 1 cup cubed (1/2 inch or less) mozzarella, preferably fresh.
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13
Add hot red pepper flakes to taste along with the tomatoes.
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14
Fresh Tomatoes should always be cored before being used (remove a cone-shaped wedge from the stem end).
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15
Peeling is optionalif you object to little bits of skin in your sauce, its worth the effort.
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16
Just drop the tomatoes into boiling water for ten seconds, remove with a slotted spoon, and slip the peel right off.
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17
(Alternatively, you can also fish out the skin as the sauce simmers; it automatically separates from the flesh.)
