Simply Pasta

This morning Michael asked me what's for dinner and then quickly answered his own question by saying "spaghetti?". I was thinking more along the lines of a bright, colourful plate with lots of crunchy vegetables so told him to "leave it with me". This time he looked directly into my eyes and said, "spaghetti?" He then went in for the kill and said he'd make it. How can one argue? When Michael makes spaghetti you know what sauce he's going to make: the Quick Tomato sauce from the cookbook "Italian Easy - Recipes from The London River Cafe" by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers. It's the only recipe he knows by heart and goes like this:

Peel and slice 3 cloves of garlic. Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and fry the garlic until brown (but make sure it doesn't burn!). Add a 28-ounce can of tomatoes (we LOVE to use San Marzano tomatoes - but any can of whole, diced, or crushed tomatoes are fine). Season with some salt and pepper (important not to be too heavy handed with the salt here as this mixture does cook down/thicken so any salt added will intensify in this process - you'll get another chance to season with salt, if needed, when the sauce is finished). Cook over a high heat for 15 minutes and stir to prevent tomatoes from sticking. If using whole canned tomatoes, break them up as they cook (a potato masher is a great tool for this job -- and you thought it was only good for mashing potatoes!). Add some fresh torn basil leaves during the last minute of cooking (you can easily omit this if you don't have any basil on hand, or add 1 teaspoon of dried basil after you add the tomatoes to the pan). Add some extra olive oil and season with salt and pepper (if needed). This recipe generously coats 2-3 servings of pasta. Don't forget to serve with a handful of grated parmesano reggiano cheese over top.