I hadn't made pasta in several months. I know that this may not be of concern for many of you out there, but for me it was akin to giving up breathing for a week or so. There's only so long a person should go without noodles and a decent sauce. Anything beyond that time limit should be considered cruel and unusual punishment.

There is a trick to this sauce, one I didn't commit for this go 'round. When you cook the onions, get them to the point where they are turning brown in order to develop that deep sweet flavor to off set the saltiness of the pancetta. Getting your pancetta to brown wouldn't be such a bad idea either.

You can substitute bacon for the pancetta if no pancetta is available.

• 3 Tblsp. olive oil
• 1/2 lb. pancetta, diced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 28 oz can of crushed Italian tomatoes
• salt & pepper to taste
• basil leaves, minced
• 1 pound of bucatini pasta
• Italian Parsely, for garnish

Place your pasta water and cooker over medium heat.

While waiting for your pasta water to boil, heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until the pork becomes a little brown around the edges. Mix in the garlic and onions and cook until the onions start to brown.

Mix in the crushed tomatoes and lower the heat to medium/medium low. Salt and pepper to taste and add the basil.

When the pasta water boils, cook the bucatini as per directions on the box. When complete, drain the pasta and plate, topping the noodles with a ladle or two of the sauce. Garnish with the parsley and serve.

Serves 4-6

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