Spicy Puttanesca Sauce

I fiddled with this one until I got it just about right.  It's great over any kind of pasta you like.

Puttanesca Sauce

Ingredients:
-1 can cherry tomatoes or roma tomatoes
-3 tbsp. good olive oil
-4 tbsp. tomato paste
-1/4 cup whole, washed basil leaves
-1/2 small white onion, diced
-2-3 cloves garlic, mashed into a paste or finely diced
-1 tsp. salt
-1-2 tsp. sugar, to taste
-black pepper to taste
-3 tbsp. capers
-1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
-1 tbsp. dried chili flakes (or adjust to taste)

Method:

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat for 10 minutes or so until hot.  Add chili flakes and let fry for 10 minutes or so.  Add garlic, capers, olives and onion and let simmer for 10 minutes.  Add tomato paste and stir until combined, then add canned tomatoes.  Stir and mash it a bit if the tomatoes were big and held their shape.  Add in salt, pepper, and sugar, and turn heat down to a low simmer and cover the pot.

Simmer as long as possible - I have even turned off the heat and let it sit like this covered on the stove overnight.  The longer the better but it will still be good even if you don't have a lot of time.

Uncover and add the basil leaves.  Stir and let simmer for another few minutes, taste to see if sugar/salt/pepper needs adjusting, and serve over your favorite pasta!