Spaghetti with cherry tomatoes

For the past few months I've made this dish at least once a week, more often, twice a week. I can't claim a bit of originality in this recipe. It is just a mixture of all the cherry tomato pasta sauces I've read/watched on the web.

As with most red sauces, the longer it can simmier, the better it tastes. I generally get the sauce going and then put it on a low simmer while the spaghetti cooks. It might just be my cheap pan, but I need to watch the sauce while it simmers and add water as needed so it doesn't stick too badly to the bottom.

The measurements are for two servings. It is also very heavy on the onions, but, I LOVE onions, so adjust to your liking.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced (use more or less to your preference)
• olive oil to coat bottom of wide frying pan with lid
• 1 ts paprika
• 1 ts oregano or 1 ts basil, or both if you like
• red pepper flakes to taste (careful!)
• 2 generous Tbs tomato paste
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 well rounded Tbs granulated sugar
• 2 servings of spaghetti
• salt and pepper
• parmesan cheese for serving

Add olive oil to a wide frying pan (preferrably one with a lid) and bring to medium heat. Add the sliced onions and stir so they are coated with the oil. Add a pinch of salt to the onions. Saute until the onions are soft and almost ready to turn a golden brown.

Once the onions have softened add the paprika, garlic, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes. Saute while stirring to be sure the garlic does not burn. Cook until the garlic becomes slightly golden.

Add tomato paste and work into the onions, spcies, and garlic. Stir constantly so the tomato paste doesn't burn. Cook for at least a couple of minutes to give the tomato paste a nice flavor.

Add cherry tomatoes to the pan. Before stirring them in, add a generous pinch of salt over the tomatoes. Stir in the tomatoes giving them a bit of a smoosh to release the goodness of the inside and add liquid into the pan. Add water, sugar, and vinegar and bring to a vigorous simmer. Place lid on pan and reduce heat to a low simmer. Keep and eye on the sauce while it cooks giving it an occasional stir and adding water as needed.

Once the sauce is simmering, put your spaghetti on to cook. When the spaghetti is done, strain and add to the pan with the sauce, stirring so the sauce coats the pasta.

Plate it up and serve with parmesan cheese. If you are really awesome and have some fresh basil on hand, well, you already know what to do.