1. Heat the oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the cherry tomatoes and garlic.

2. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cherry tomatoes just begin to blister (about 5 minutes). Then remove most of them to a bowl using a slotted spoon (there’ll be some juices leftover, that’s fine).

Tip: This step is optional, but if you leave the cherry tomatoes in the pot for the entire duration of cooking, most will break down to nothing. This doesn’t impact taste, but the end product isn’t as visually striking.

3. Add the tomato paste, stock and milk to the pot, and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add the pasta and stir well frequently for the first few minutes to break up any pasta that’s stuck together.

4. Continue to stir the pasta regularly, ensuring it’s mostly covered by the liquid (add more stock or water as needed) until the pasta is al dente. This will take about 15-20 minutes.

5. Add the cream, grated cheese, reserved tomatoes, salt and pepper and almost all of the basil (save a few leaves for garnish), and stir through.

Tip: It may look like there’s way too much sauce, but it thickens on standing.

6. Tear the mozzarella or bocconcini into pieces and scatter on top of the pasta. Place a lid on the pot, and cook for 3 minutes until the cheese is nice and melty.

Serve in bowls topped with fresh basil leaves and scattered with pine nuts. A dollop of pesto on top or stirred through also makes for a flavourful addition.

P.S. This tastes even better re-heated the next day, once all the flavours have had more time to infuse!