In a medium to a large saucepan, melt 3 tbsp of butter over medium heat.

Remove fibrous stems and shells from garlic cloves.  Using the side of a knife, smash the cloves.

Cut bacon into pieces no larger than 1 cm (0.5 inch) large.  Add bacon pieces the melted butter in the pan along with thyme sprigs and smashed garlic cloves.

Sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper and cook on medium heat until bacon is crispy and garlic is golden (about 10 minutes). Be careful not to burn the garlic otherwise, it will taste bitter.

Meanwhile, wash tomatoes, remove the core at the top and diced into pieces no bigger than 1 cm (0.5 inch).

When bacon is crisp and garlic is golden, stir in diced tomatoes.  Increase heat to high and let bubble away for a minute or so then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer.

Let simmer on low for 10-15 minutes. Make sure to give it a stir every once in a while to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.

While sauce is simmering, cook pasta according to directions on the package and drain. Remember to salt your pasta!  My recommendation is 1 tbsp of sea salt to every 2 liters of water.  It should taste like salty soup.  Always taste the water before adding uncooked pasta.

After the sauce has simmered and tomatoes have lost all shape, carefully remove thyme sprigs and season with sea salt to taste.  Make sure you take into account the seasoning of the pasta when adding salt to the sauce.  If your pasta is salty, go light on the salt.

Add cooked pasta to the sauce and toss together. Sprinkle some cheese on top and dig in!