KITCHEN PRACTICE 2 — A Full Tomato Sugo, Tossed with Pasta
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Chapter: Italian Cookery 4 — Building Sauces from a Soffritto

TASK
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Build a full tomato sugo on top of your soffritto, crushing the
tomatoes by hand and simmering gently for 20-30 minutes. Toss it
with pasta cooked using Chapter 3's technique, finishing with pasta
water if needed.

WHAT TO DO
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1. Make a fresh batch of soffritto following Kitchen Practice 1's
   method (or reuse a frozen cube if you made extra).
2. Open a can of San Marzano (or good-quality) whole peeled
   tomatoes. Add them to the pan one at a time, crushing each with
   your hand (or the side of a wooden spoon) as it goes in.
3. Bring to a gentle simmer — small, occasional bubbles only — and
   cook uncovered for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Meanwhile, cook a portion of pasta following Chapter 3's own
   salting and al dente technique, reserving a cup of the pasta
   water before draining (don't rinse).
5. Taste the sauce and season with salt as needed toward the end of
   simmering.
6. Add the drained pasta directly into the sauce's own pan, tossing
   to coat. If the sauce looks thick or the pasta isn't coating
   evenly, add a splash of the reserved pasta water and toss again.
7. Remove from heat and stir in torn fresh basil leaves right at the
   end.

WHAT TO EXPECT
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- The sauce should thicken slightly and turn a deep, rich red over
  the simmer time, with the crushed tomato pieces breaking down but
  not disappearing entirely — you should still see some texture.
- Tossing the pasta directly in the sauce's own pan (rather than
  spooning sauce over plain pasta in a bowl) should visibly coat
  every piece — you shouldn't see a pool of separate sauce sitting
  at the bottom once it's tossed.
- If the sauce seems too thick or clings unevenly, a splash of pasta
  water should loosen it noticeably and help it coat more smoothly —
  a direct, felt payoff of Chapter 3's own reserving habit.

WHY THIS WORKS AS AN ANSWER
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This exercise is the whole chapter working together as one dish —
the soffritto providing a sweet aromatic base, the hand-crushed
tomatoes giving you real control over texture, the gentle simmer
avoiding the harsh flavour a hard boil would produce, and the pasta
water finishing the emulsion the way Chapter 3 set you up to expect.
Building the full dish start to finish is what makes each individual
technique feel like a real, connected system rather than a list of
separate rules.