Heat a tbsp of oil or so in the pan you will cook your sauce in
Add to the oil and let it sizzle and brown, if you don't it will be bland
Once browned add onion and garlic and capers and chilli flakes and cook for a few minutes
Add tomato puree and cook for a few more minutes
Add tinned tomatoes
Add oregano
Bring to a simmer and let do it's thing while you focus on pasta
Put pasta in a big ol' pan of boiling water with a generous pinch of salt – see notes
When pasta is cooked to your liking, add to the sauce – see notes
Add you basil and simmer for a few minutes so everything gets to know each other
Serve
Top with cheese
Enjoy
Tips
On tomatoes: tinned tomatoes, in general, are shit in the UK. They vary wildly. I like to buy tinned whole plum tomatoes and blend them before they go in a sauce, it makes even the cheapest tins taste pretty good. If they're still water and crap then consider your friend Thomas Percival.
Tomato puree: This is the Thomas I'm talking about. I swear this only exists because of the direness of our tomatoes. Anyway, this will beef up your sauce (figuratively). So add a good tsp or two. But FFS cook it out otherwise it will be bitter.
If after cooking your sauce still doesn't taste tomatoey and deicious then a tiny pinch of sugar will help. If they're bland and lack freshness then the tiniest amount of wine vinegar will also do the trick. if it's STILL crap, then abandon all hope.
On cooking pasta: the "as salty as the sea" rule is bollocks. You just need a lil bit of salt. Don't go crazy because you want to "accidentally" get some of that pasta water into your sauce.
Add spaghetti to your sauce using kitchen tongues, that way you get enough pasta water.
Recipes that say "reserve some pasta water" are written by psychopaths. Just ladle a blob of water in if you need to.
