CHERRY TOMATO & FETA SPAGHETTI

It's sunny, hot and there's water everywhere, there's nothing better than summer in Amsterdam. Summer weekends here are spent lounging in the parks, fleeing to the ocean side or biking to one of the many lakes (meer) around the country. 

A friend and I weighed our options and decided to head to the beach so we needed a quick pre-beach lunch which was bikini friendly and easy to cook up in my un air-conditioned flat.

This pasta is light, easy and from start to finish takes under 30 minutes. With a couple of cubes of feta and some fresh oregano a wonderful summer meal is born.

Cherry Tomato Spaghetti
Serves 2

130 grams of spaghetti (yes 65 gr per person, trust me its enough)
12 cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove crushed
small fistful of oregano
1/3 cup crumbled or cubed feta
1/4 cup reserved pasta water
salt to taste
parmesan to taste

Put a pot of water to boil for the pasta.

In a frying pan on low place all of the olive oil and the crushed clove of garlic, sautee for 5 minutes until fragrant, do not let this burn, and it shouldn't on low. After 5 minutes remove your garlic. The oil will be fragrant with garlic but not over powering.

While the garlic sautees cut a small slit into the bottom of your cherry tomatoes, this prevents them from exploding while they cook! Place the cherry tomatoes in the pan with the olive oil, add a sprinkle of salt, cover and leave the tomatoes alone until the spaghetti has finished cooking.

When the water boils, generously salt the water and drop in your spaghetti cooking according to the package instructions.

When the spaghetti is cooked drain all the water but a 1/4 cup and dump the spaghetti and the water into the frying pan with the tomatoes. The tomatoes will be softened and their juice will have started cooking in the oil. Sprinkle over your fresh oregano, (basil or parsley will also do) and stir the spaghetti until the sauce coats all of it.

Serve with some crumbled or cubed feta on top and a grating of parmesan.