Sausage Sauce for pasta

A packet of good quality sausages is a good fridge standby and even better in the freezer - you can decide to use them in the afternoon and get them out to thaw for an evening supper. Of course, there are the traditional ways to eat them but when you are bored with those, this sauce is tasty, easy and adaptable, both in flavour and in how many you can use it to feed.

Sausage Sauce

8 sausages (one of those packets of 6 some supermarkets do will feed 3 generously and can easily be stretched for 4)
1 large onion
1/2 cloves garlic
Tomatoes - half a can/ or 3/4 lb chopped - plus a good squeeze tomato puree
Pinch chilli flakes or 1/4 teaspoon max chilli powder
Cream and basil to finish - optional

1. Soften the finely chopped onion in a little oil in a wide frying pan
2. Skin each sausage (easy with a sharp knife or scissors) and break up into the pan
3. Stir vigorously over a high heat till all the sausage meat has started to cook and is in small bits
4. Add garlic and chilli and cook a little longer
5. Add tomatoes
6. Mix it all and let it cook gently till a thick meaty sauce

This can be done at the same time as you get the pasta cooking (penne for preference) or it will reheat. These quantities could be stretched for 6 as we eat a much greater sauce to pasta ratio than any Italian would anyway.
When you are ready to eat, add a little double cream and a handful of basil. The cream is optional but softens and adds to the flavour. Don't add any other kind of liquid if you can avoid it. Scoop the pasta straight out of the pan with a slotted spoon and mix into the sauce. This is a good Jamie Oliver tip and means you avoid that 'sticky pasta in the colander' situation and adds some pasta water to any sauce to its benefit.