Southern Italian Tomato and Green Bean Spaghetti | 20-Minute Fresh Pasta

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil for the spaghetti. Trim both ends of the green beans, then 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 chopped green beans and cook for exactly 3-4 minutes so they stay crisp-tender. Remove them with a slotted spoon into a bowl (do not pour out the hot cooking water!), then immediately rinse the beans with cold water to preserve their vibrant green color.

Add the spaghetti to the boiling pasta water and cook for 1-2 minutes less than indicated on the package so it is perfectly 'al dente'. Before draining, ladle out 1 cup (approx. 150 ml) of the starchy cooking water for the sauce.