Fix import
Ingredients
- 8 -10 oz (225-275 g) spaghetti (depending on how hungry you are)
- a few drops of olive oil
- salt
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly milled black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 fresh red chilli, de-seeded and chopped
- 1 level dessertspoon chopped fresh basil
- 6 oz (175 g) pitted black olives, chopped
- 2 heaped tablespoon capers, drained
- 1 lb (450 g) tomatoes, skinned and chopped
- 1 rounded tablespoon tomato purée
- chopped fresh basil
- lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano)
Instructions
To make the sauce, heat the oil in a medium saucepan, then add the garlic, chilli and basil and cook these briefly till the garlic is pale gold.
Then add all the other sauce ingredients, stir and season with a little pepper – but no salt yet because of the anchovies. Turn the heat to low and let the sauce simmer very gently without a lid for 40 minutes, by which time it will have reduced to a lovely thick mass, with very little liquid left.
While the sauce is cooking, take your largest saucepan, fill it with at least 4 pints (2.25 litres) of hot water and bring it up to a gentle simmer. Add a few drops of olive oil and a little salt and then, 8 minutes before the sauce is ready, plunge the spaghetti into the water. Stir well to prevent it clogging together, then time it for exactly 8 minutes.
After that drain it in a colander, return it to the saucepan presto pronto, and toss the sauce in it, adding the basil.
Mix thoroughly and serve in well-heated bowls, with lots of grated Parmesan to sprinkle over – and have plenty of gutsy, 'tarty' Italian red wine to wash it down.