Tomato Sauce

• In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat.
• Add in the fennel, onions, carrots, minced garlic and crushed chili pepper.
• Sauté for about 6 minutes or just until the fennel and onions are translucent and soft.
• Stir often taking care not to burn the garlic.
• Add the white wine and stir to deglaze.
• Add in the Passata (strained tomatoes).
• Fill the bottle from the crushed tomatoes with 2 cups of water and give it a swirl to release any remaining crushed tomatoes from the bottle.
• Add this to the tomatoes in the pan.
• Stir in the salt, pepper and fresh basil.
• Bring to a slow boil, then lower the heat and let the sauce simmer till thickened. About 45 to 50 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil.
• When the water has reached a roaring boil, salt the water and toss in the linguine, stirring well.
• Cook according to package instructions.
• While the pasta is cooking, add the cleaned mussels to the tomato fennel sauce. Cover and let simmer for about 8 minutes. By this time, your pasta should be ready. (Time it so that the linguine and sauce are ready at the same time.)
• When the pasta is cooked, drain well and transfer to a serving bowl.
• Top the linguine with some of the tomato sauce to coat and transfer onto a serving platter.
• Ladle more sauce over the pasta, top with the mussels, and some fresh basil leaves.
• You can bring the platter to the table and allow everyone to help themselves. (Very impressive this way). Or you can plate and serve individually.
• Serve warm with some crusty bread and a side salad.