Quick and Easy Pasta Sauce

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Ingredients
Basic sauce

• Olive oil
• 1 tin of tomatoes (chopped for preference)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• salt and black pepper
• Pasta of your choice

Variations

• 8oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 packet of sliced salami
• Pitted black olives
• Fresh basil

I thought it was about time the more southerly Greasy Trucker put in an appearance, so here I am. This dish is particularly quick and easy; an ideal one to try if you're new to the world of cooking or if your cupboard is getting empty. Follow it with Marinated Miniature Figs and Mascarpone for an effortless but wonderful meal.

Tinned tomatoes are fine for this dish, but I'd be inclined to steer clear of the very cheapest ones. Similarly, if you need an excuse to find out why certain brands of pasta cost twice as much as others, you won't go far wrong here.

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Preparation
Basic sauce
Peel and cut each clove of garlic into 4-5 pieces. Fry it in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until it begins to go golden. Don't overdo this as it will go bitter if you do. Add the tomatoes, break them up if they're not already chopped, and cook until the sauce thickens. This should take about 10 minutes, during which time you can cook the pasta. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve on top of the pasta.

This sauce more than repays the tiny amount of effort needed to make it.

Variations
Add some sliced mushrooms to the basic tomato sauce at the start of the cooking time, and some supermarket salami cut into inch squares, a dozen or so pitted black olives and a handful of fresh basil (tear it, don't cut it) at the end for a tasty variation.

Pasta
Cooking pasta always seems to involve more water than you think you'll need. Use a big pan to give the pasta plenty of room to cook in. I don't time pasta - I keep trying it until it's done the way I like it; slightly softer than 'al-dente', but not boiled limp. This usually takes about 8-10 minutes. Now drain it, put a small splash of olive oil in the bottom of the now-empty pan you used to cook the pasta in. Return the drained pasta to the pan and add some freshly ground black pepper and a splash more olive oil. Give the pasta a quick stir and serve. I haven't given quantities here, but I suggest about 4oz dried pasta per person as a rough guide.

Pasta is generally made by forcing dough through a nozzle. The nozzle has a critical part to play in the process, not only does it govern the shape of the pasta, it affects the surface. Teflon nozzles give a smooth surface and allow fast production. Bronze nozzles give a slightly rough surface to the pasta and slow down production (and, inevitably, push up the cost). The rough surface of bronze-nozzle pasta allows it to pick up more sauce than teflon-nozzle pasta. Bronze-nozzle pasta is much more readily available than it was - at least here in the UK - your supermarket will probably stock it.

The basic tomato and garlic sauce is adapted from Pizza and Pasta by Susan Conte, which is a book worth adding to your shelf. Used copies seem to be available from Amazon.