500gripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped, or 400 g tinned plum tomatoes
A pinch of sugar
350gdried pasta, such as spaghetti or linguine
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Crispy breadcrumbs, to serve (optional)
Instructions
#In summer, make this with fragrant ripe tomatoes -otherwise, use tinned Italian plum tomatoes. The basil is added in two stages: first for depth of flavour, then at the end for a burst of fresh fragrance, hence the name double basil.# Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the garlic, shallot and half the basil. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the shallot is golden.
Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes, until thickened and pulpy. Add the sugar, 100 ml water and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer very gently for 1 hour until dark red and thickened, with droplets of oil on the surface.
Towards the end of the cooking time for the sauce, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, or according to the instructions on the packet.
Tear the remaining basil into the tomato sauce and add the sauce to the drained pasta. Toss to mix, then serve topped with Parmesan and crispy breadcrumbs, if desired.pasta and tomato sauce recipe-recipe tomato sauce-www.eatopic.com #Variation# Crispy breadcrumbs make a great addition to any tomato-based pasta sauce. Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and add a good tablespoon or two of fresh white breadcrumbs. Cook over high heat, stirring, until golden brown. The smaller crumbs will char a little at the bottom of the pan, but that’s good. Serve straight from the pan, sprinkled on top of the pasta, while the crumbs are still hot and sizzling.
