Linguine Pomodoro

If you're a little tired of basic spaghetti sauce, try this. It's especially good if you can find fresh, dead-ripe plum tomatoes, but don't worry too much if you can't. This is a fairly simple recipe that will serve perfectly well when you have ingredients but not time.

• 1 28-oz can whole plum tomatoes, diced OR 8 ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced (not chopped)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
• fresh basil, julienned
• 1 lb linguine (fettucine will also work)
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste

In a frying pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil and garlic for a minute or so, then add tomatoes and basil. Cook until heated through and leave on low heat to reduce a bit.

Meanwhile, cook the linguine according to package instructions. When finished, toss linguine with sauce and serve with fresh-grated cheese.