Boil a kettle of water and pour into a large saucepan, adding a handful of salt.

Add the pasta and cook until done to your liking (9 - 12 min), stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Tip: complete steps 2 - 4 while the pasta is cooking.

Optional (only if you want to remove the tomato skins, you can leave them on)

Put the tomatoes in a heatproof bowl or jug and pour over more boiling water from the kettle (cutting an 'x' on the bottom of each will make it easier to remove the skins). Leave for 1 minute then drain.

Cut the tomatoes in half then use your thumb to push out and discard the seeds.

If you poured boiling water over them as per the step above, push off the skins at the same time.

Chop roughly or just cut each half in half again, depending how chunky you want them.

Put 1 tbsp of olive oil and the prepared garlic in a small, deepish frying pan over medium heat.

Cook until the garlic is golden then remove and discard it.

Add the tomatoes to the pan along with the chilli flakes, a pinch of salt, a grind of black pepper, plus the sugar if using.

Cook briefly (no more than a couple of minutes), just until the tomatoes are warm and have started to release their juice.

Stir in the capers and mint then taste and add more salt and/or pepper if needed. Take the pan off the heat.

Drain the pasta, add it to the pan and toss everything together.

Transfer to a bowl and serve at once, drizzled with olive oil and topped with extra mint, black pepper, and chilli flakes if liked.