Almost Authentic Spaghetti and Sauce

I'm a maddeningly picky eater. I also hate tomatoes and I hate pasta. After years of trying numerous different spaghetti sauces and being nauseated by each one, I was determined to come up with one of my own that I'd love. And whaddaya know, I did! Try this recipe for an easy (if time-consuming), fairly cheap, and delicious meal. I don't measure my ingredients so some of these figures are close estimates, so remember to periodically taste your sauce to make sure you don't have too much or too little of something. This sauce is also makes a great bruschetta, which I often serve as a side to this dish. This recipe feeds 4 - 6 people, depending on your appetite.

What You'll Need

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 1/2 small cans of tomato paste
• 1/2 cup - 1 cup water, depending on how thick/thin you like your sauce
• 3 - 4 roma tomatoes, diced
• Half of a medium-sized sweet red onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely diced
• 5 sprigs of cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 sweet Italian sausage
• 1 hot Italian sausage
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• Fresh basil, finely chopped - lots of it!
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Pasta of choice, about 16oz

Get Cookin'

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium-sized pan. While the oil is heating, chop up your vegetables.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and let the oil cool just slightly, then add vegetables. Allow them to cook for five or so minutes, stirring frequently. Add tomato paste and let melt. Onced melted, add water, salt, pepper, sugar, and all spices except basil. (Note: I recommend very gradually adding water and then stirring, then adding more if you need it to ensure sauce is not too thin.)
3. Let simmer for at least two hours so the flavors melt together, stirring every twenty minutes or so to keep from burning. I let mine simmer covered to keep in moisture, but uncovered is perfectly fine.
4. Cook sausage on medium-low heat in a covered skillet until done, turning every few minutes to keep from burning. The sausage takes only twenty to thirty minutes to cook unless it's particularly thick so do this near the end. (Note: You can also grill your sausage depending on preference, but remember grilling often cooks much quicker.)
5. While sausage is cooking, boil heavily salted water (and I mean heavily - at least a tablespoon per quart or so) in a medium-sized pan. Bring to a strong boil and add pasta, then immediately reduce heat to medium. Keep constant supervision and frequently taste the pasta to make sure it gets cooked perfectly al dente. Mushy pasta is gross and decidedly un-Italian. Once done, drain and do not rinse.
6. Once sausage and pasta are done, dice the sausage into small pieces. Add sausage and basil into sauce, then stir until well-mixed.