Instructions: 1 Skin the tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them and leaving them for exactly one minute, or if the tomatoes are small, 15-30 seconds.

2 Drain and slip off the skins, protecting your hands with a cloth if they are too hot. Reserve three tomatoes for later and roughly chop the rest.

3 Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, add the onions and garlic and gently cook for 5-6 minutes, until softened and pale gold in colour.

Add the chopped tomatoes with a third of the basil, torn into pieces.

4 Add some salt and pepper, and simmer the tomatoes on a very low heat with a lid, for 1 1/2 hours, until almost all the liquid has evaporated and the tomatoes are reduced to a thick, jam-like consistency, stirring now and then.

5 Roughly chop the reserved fresh tomatoes and stir in, along with the rest of the torn basil leaves, and serve on the pasta with a hint of Parmesan - not too much, so it doesnt detract from the tomato flavour.

NB When serving this sauce, it is a good idea to give the pasta one minute less cooking time that usual, then return to the saucepan after draining and cook for another minute while you mix in the sauce.

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.