Homemade Tomato Sauce

We heat the oil in a pot over medium heat, then add the chopped onion and sauté until it softens and turns light golden.

We add the minced garlic and stir it with the onion until lightly golden.

We add 1 cup of water to the onion and garlic to prevent them from burning or darkening.

We add the chopped tomatoes, cover the pot, and let them soften for about 10 minutes.

Once the tomatoes are soft, we remove the skin using a fork or tongs.

We let the mixture boil for 5 minutes, then blend it using a hand blender until smooth.

We season the sauce with salt, black pepper, paprika, sugar, dried basil (optional), and tomato paste. Stir well.

We add ½ cup of water and let the sauce boil for 10 minutes until it thickens and oil rises to the surface.

In another pot, we boil salted water (1 tablespoon salt) to cook the pasta.

We boil the pasta in boiling water, but we turn off the heat 2 minutes before the time written on the package, because the pasta will finish cooking later with the sauce.

After draining, we mix the pasta with the sauce in the pan or pot and stir well until fully coated.

We serve the pasta hot. Optionally, garnish with grated cheese or fresh basil.