About 4 hours ahead of time, chop the tomatoes and put in a large bowl together with the basil, vinegar, and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil.

Sauté the garlic in a bit of the olive oil in a pan over medium heat for about 2 or 3 minutes. Soften the garlic, but don’t let it brown. Browned garlic tastes bitter. Add cooked garlic to the tomato mixture along with salt and pepper to taste. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for about 4 hours.

10 – 15 minutes before you are ready to serve, cook your pasta according to the directions on the box, in salted water. When done al dente (you don’t want it mushy for the salad), drain, then toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the parmesan cheese. Pour the tomato mixture over the pasta, gently toss and serve.