Italian Green Bean Penne with Garlic Cherry Tomatoes | 20-Minute Skillet Pasta

Bring plenty of lightly salted water to a boil in a large pot. Trim both ends of the green beans and cut them into 3–4 cm pieces. Wash and halve the cherry tomatoes, and thinly slice the garlic cloves.

When the water is at a rolling boil, add the penne pasta and the chopped green beans. Cook them together for about 9–10 minutes, until the pasta is nicely 'al dente' and the green beans remain bright green and tender-crisp. Before draining, ladle out 1 cup (approx. 150 ml) of the starchy cooking water.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the extra virgin olive oil in a wide, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the thinly sliced garlic and a pinch of chili flakes, then sauté for 1 minute until fragrant (be careful not to brown it too much).