Spaghetti al sugo

Serves 4

400 gr of fresh or dry spaghetti
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 golden shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, bashed with the back of a knife (or finely chopped, if you like a more pungent aroma)
400 g can peeled tomatoes 🍅 roughly cut with a knife
salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated parmigiano and basil leaves, to serve

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add the shallot and garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant (watch it closely as the garlic can burn very quickly). Drop in the tomatoes and season with salt, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes or until slightly reduced. If it looks too dry add little water.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, drop in the spaghetti and stir through, then cook for 1–2 minutes if using fresh noodles or 8-9 minutes if using dry pasta. Using a spaghetti spoon, transfer the pasta straight into the sugo, dragging a little of the cooking water with it and toss well over medium heat for 20–30 seconds. Finish with a generous dusting of parmesan, some basil leaves and a good grinding of pepper.

Recipe from Simple Italian, now in its third reprint!!

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