Hubby for some unknown reason has decided that I am a murderer of all houseplants, where this notion has come from I do not know as I still have the same Orchid, which is as we speak in full glorious bloom, that he brought me 6 years ago. This rather harsh label may come from me being unable to keep alive supermarket brought basil. In my defence they are rather spindly and forced and I do tend to over water them & rot their roots. Whoops maybe he does have a point!

What doesn’t help is that one of the guys in his office has brought a supermarket basil, shoved it in the office window and it is not only thriving but sounds like the best basil plant in the whole world.

Not to be out done I have asked Hubby to keep an eye on the techniques being used on the amazing basil of all basil’s. It would appear that you neglect it until it looks like it is wilting, water it and make sure its in direct sunshine and kept very warm.

My basil is on the conservatory window sill and has been treated as above and I am happy and proud to announce that all is well and I have had the basil for a good couple of weeks or so now, so quite a record for me. As I use basil a lot when cooking it has been nice to not have to keep buying plants but just pop into the lounge and pick a few leaves as required. The recipe below is just perfect for my wonderful little basil plant.

Buon appetito

Serves 4

125ml olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
400g spaghetti
400g tin chopped tomatoes
2tbsp passata
20 small fresh basil leaves
Grated parmesan and freshly ground black pepper to serve

Heat the oil in a saute pan over a medium heat and gently fry the onion for 10 minutes to soften, then add the garlic and cook for a couple more minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a pan of boiling, lightly salted water until al dente, stirring regularly so it doesn’t stick. Drain well and set aside.

Carefully add the chopped tomatoes to the garlic and onion, followed by the passata. Heat through, stirring well: be careful not to overheat it. Season to taste.

Remove the sauce from the heat and toss with the spaghetti and basil. Sprinkle over the grated Parmesan to serve.

So simple, so quick but really delivers on flavour. Perfect for a simple Summer supper with a nice glass of wine.