Fancy a recipe to celebrate the first day back at school? Airplane, Train, Car pasta with cherry tomatoes and basil with a dish kids spot on the plate before you've even said a word. It's colourful, ready in minutes on even the most chaotic homework-and-after-school-activities afternoon, yet made with the same care as any traditional recipe — fresh cherry tomatoes, basil and a drizzle of oil, in a simple sauce that lets the quality of Pasta di Gragnano do the talking.

How to make Airplane, Train, Car with cherry tomatoes and basil

Ingredients for 4 servings

320 g pasta Aereo, Trenino, Macchina
400 g cherry tomatoes
1 garlic clove
A handful of fresh basil, plus a few extra leaves to garnish
Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
Salt, to taste
Grated Parmesan to serve (optional)

Method

Preparare il sugo: halve the cherry tomatoes and sauté in a pan with a drizzle of oil and the garlic clove, skin on, over medium heat for 8–10 minutes. Season with salt.
- Sauce too watery? Turn up the heat slightly for the last couple of minutes to reduce the liquid, so the sauce clings better to the shapes.
Cook the pasta: Bring plenty of salted water to the boil (1 litre of water and 10 g of salt per 100 g of pasta) and cook according to the timing on the pack.
Toss: Drain the pasta al dente straight into the pan with the sauce, keeping a ladleful of cooking water aside. Toss over high heat, adding the water if needed to bring the sauce together.
Plate: Tear the fresh basil by hand and stir it in off the heat to keep its aroma. Plate up and finish with a few whole leaves and, if you like, a dusting of Parmesan.

Just as good made ahead for a school lunchbox as it is waiting at home in the evening — a little treat after the first day back.

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