Basil is a very delicate herb and should always be added at the very end of the cooking process to preserve the taste. It also tastes much better fresh than dried, though you should perhaps keep some dried stuff around for when the fresh stuff isn't available. This recipe assumes that you can lay your hands on some fresh stuff but if you can't, use a large pinch of the dried stuff - it'll still be good.
Ingredients
400g of pasta (enough for 4 people)
2 large tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
A few sprigs of fresh basil
Olive oil
Salt
Put a pan of water on to boil for the pasta. Chop the tomatoes roughly and the onion and garlic finely. Put some olive oil into a frying pan. When the water boils, throw the pasta into the water with some salt and a splash of olive oil and give it a stir. When the pot comes back to the boil you can turn the heat down to medium. When the pasta has been cooking for five minutes, heat some oil in a frying pan and when it is hot, add chopped garlic and fry for a few seconds before adding chopped tomato. Add some salt and put a lid on the frying pan and turn the heat down a little. Chop the basil up and when the pasta is ready (about 12 minutes after it starts to boil), turn off the heat under both pans and gently stir the basil into the sauce. Serve the pasta topped with the sauce and you won't go wrong flinging on a bit of grated parmesan when you're serving up.