Francis Ford Coppola's Favorite Pasta

Open the canned tomatoes and, with a long knife, cut them into smaller pieces while still in the can. Cuts should be non-uniform for authenticity.

Dump all tomatoes into a colander with a bowl underneath to catch and reserve the tomato juices.

In a sauce pan, sauté the onions in a small quantity of olive oil until they soften slightly.

Over low heat, add the drained tomatoes and stir slightly.

Add half of the basil and some red pepper flakes. Stir occasionally while the tomatoes are heating up.

When good heat is obtained, add butter and stir to incorporate.

Remove from heat and toss in the remaining basil. Cover and let it sit.

If needed, adjust to a slightly more fluid consistency using some of the reserved tomato juice.

In a large pot, fill with about 6 quarts of water and bring to rapid boil with enough salt to "taste the water" when sipped.

Add noodles and cook according to package directions.

When ready, remove and reserve about 2 cups of the hot cooking water, then drain the pasta.

Return the well-drained noodles to the pot over medium heat.

With a little of the reserved water if needed to keep things "loose", bring noodles up to a higher heat.

Add some of the reserved tomato juice to coat and meld the flavor of tomatoes into the pasta. This can only happen at a heat level higher than 212°F (the highest temperature the noodles experienced while cooking initially).

Serve with the prepared sauce.