Rigatoni with Fresh Tomato Sauce

With these warm days and sunshine we've had of late, my tomatoes have been ripening nicely.  Truly vine ripened, organic tomatoes, is there any better tomato to be had?  We have been enjoying them, as they ripen, in salads, in scrambled eggs, and on sandwiches and burgers.  Today was a big harvest and Maggie made the request for garden tomato sauce pasta.  With the start of high school and sports, Maggie is not home for dinner at least twice a week, so you betchya, I am more than happy to oblige.  

This is very simple and simply delicious.

5 cups, approx. of chopped fresh tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly torn

Heat olive oil over medium low heat, then add the garlic and saute until softened.  Toss in the tomatoes and turn heat up to medium high.  Saute the tomatoes for a few minutes, add the salt and pepper, then cover and turn heat down to medium low.  Cook the tomatoes for another 5 minutes.  Uncover, turn heat up to medium high and cook for another 5 minutes to thicken the sauce slightly.  At this point, you can turn the heat off and reheat when ready to serve.  

Cook you choice of pasta.  I used Lagana fresh rigatoni.
At the insistence of Chris, I added a dollop of cream to the sauce.  So, add the cream and bring sauce to a rolling boil for a minute.  Then add the basil in at the last minute.  Depending on the type of pasta you are using, you can ladle the sauce over top or toss the pasta in with the sauce.  I tossed.
As Maggie said, "the Emertons know how to eat!"  Yes, we do.