Tomato and Basil Spaghetti

F#*k Dr Atkins-I need carbs in my life. We eat a lot of pasta at my house, and feel special cause I'm about to share with you the basic tomato sauce which I use for this simple, light spaghetti, but you can also add meat to for bolognese which also makes what I've been told is the most amazing lasagna ever.

My dad has an Australian-Italian friend who came over and taught him this recipe- however as I tend to do, I've changed it a wee bit and got tips from various cooking shows. Here goes...

Tomato and Basil Spaghetti
Ingredients
1 brown onion
4 large garlic cloves
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
2x 400g can of whole tomatoes
200g tomato paste
1 heaped Tbsp brown sugar
3/4cup extra virgin olive oil
Fresh basil- 12 leaves
Pasta
Freshly grated parmesan

Heat a frypan to medium heat with a swig of olive oil. Chop the onion and cook till soft. The first tip for getting the most flavor out of your sauce is to cook these off as long as you can before the get too brown. You want them to get to a point where you can mash them with the back of your spoon, which usually takes about 10-12 minutes so if they're getting too dark too quickly, you need to reduce the heat. Once the onions are almost to that point, add the finely chopped garlic, oregano, and a decent amount of salt and pepper. Fry this off till the oregano and garlic are fragrant. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste and brown sugar. Fill up one of the tomato cans with hot water, add to the pan and bring the sauce to the boil. Add the whole lot of olive oil. It seems like a lot and will sit on the top looking not too attractive but this is the second tip for a flavorful sauce. Reduce the heat to a medium boil and cover. Cook for around 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. You're going to be looking for the oil to first melt into the sauce, then the oil will become a beautiful rich red color and sit on top of the sauce. Cook the sauce down till it becomes relatively thick, and is going the give the pasta a thick coating. Heat a pot of water to a rapid boil. Add a few heaped Tbsp of salt and cook your favorite pasta (I like to use thick spaghetti) till al dente and drain. About 5 minutes before the pasta is ready, chop 8 basil leaves finely and add to the sauce and cook for 5 minutes. Add large spoons of the pasta sauce to the cooked pasta until you've got a good coating on it. Plate up and add a little more of the sauce, more fresh chopped basil and a generous amount of parmesan cheese.

Tip: get yourself a loaf of crusty bread and soak up all this olive oil on the bottom of your plate. It will change. your. life.