Bucatini Pomodoro

Drain canned tomatoes in a strainer over a bowl and use your hand to crush the whole tomatoes. Reserved the drained juice.
Chop the onion into small or medium dice size and mince the garlic cloves. Keep separate and set aside.
Finely chop the basil and grate the parmesan, set aside.
In a large non-stick pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add the diced onions with a small pinch of salt and stir to sweat the onions until translucent.
Add the minced garlic and stir for about 1 minute until just fragrant. Then, add the crushed tomatoes, stir to combine.
Add salt and sugar and simmer while stirring for about 15-20 minutes, until the sauce is reduced.
Once reduced, add about half of the reserved tomato juices (discard the rest) and the red pepper flakes, bring to a more rapid simmer and cook for another 15-20 minutes
After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and fold in the chopped basil.
Cook the bucatini in a pot of boiling salted water until it floats (if fresh) or according to package instructions to al dente.
Drain the pasta (but always reserve some pasta water if needed).
In the dry pot of pasta (or in a new pan) heat 1-2 tablespoon of more olive oil. Add ¼-⅓ cup of the pomodoro sauce to the pot, then add the drained cooked pasta.
Stir to combine until pasta is coated, adding more sauce if you need to.
Mix in half of the parmesan cheese and, if you wish, more basil.
Serve hot and garnish with remaining parmesan and fresh parsley or basil.