Cherry Tomato Sauce Spaghetti

Ingredients:

Sauce:

• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 oz. shallots, shaved or thinly sliced (1 cup)
• 2 heads of garlic, shaved or thinly sliced (3/4 cup)*
• 24 oz. cherry tomatoes**
• 2 cups canned, drained plum tomatoes, crushed (I just crushed them with my hands)
• ⅛ tsp sugar
• 8 stems fresh basil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)

Instructions:

Sauce:

1. Combine olive oil and shallots in a pot over low heat and cook 10 - 12 minutes until shallots become translucent and soft. Stir in garlic while coating entirely with oil, cook for 15 minutes until garlic has softened. Add in cherry tomatoes, crushed plum tomatoes and sugar, cook 20 minutes. Stir in fresh basil stems, partially cover pot and allow mixture to cook 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until cherry tomatoes have burst and deflated and the mixture has turned to a rich sauce.
   
2. Discard basil or remove some of the leaves from stems and reserve in sauce (I ripped some of the leaves off and kept them in the sauce, it couldn't just toss it all :). Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste and stir in red pepper flakes to taste if desired. Toss sauce with pasta of choice and serve topped with chopped fresh basil for garnish if desired.

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Photo Credit: cookingclassy.com