Soften the onion. Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 5–6 minutes, until the pieces turn translucent and glossy at the edges and you can smell that sweet, mellow onion aroma rising from the pan.

Build the base. Stir in the garlic, oregano, and chilli flakes if using. Cook for 60 seconds only — the garlic should smell fragrant and nutty, not sharp or browned. If it starts to colour, pull the pan off the heat for a moment.

Bloom the tomato purée. Add the tomato purée and stir it through the onions for a full minute. It will darken from bright red to a deeper brick colour and smell slightly caramelised. This step is what gives the sauce its depth.

Add tomatoes and stock. Tip in the chopped tomatoes, then pour in the hot stock. Season with the salt and pepper and stir well. Bring to a steady simmer — you want lazy bubbles breaking across the surface, not a rolling boil.

Cook the pasta in the sauce. Add the dried pasta and stir so every piece is submerged. Simmer uncovered for 11–13 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes to stop the pasta sticking to the base. The sauce will gradually thicken and cling to the pasta as the starch releases.

Check the bite. Fish out a piece of pasta and taste it. It should be tender with the faintest resistance at the centre. If the pan looks dry before the pasta is done, splash in 50 ml of hot water rather than more stock.

Wilt the spinach. Turn off the heat and add the spinach in two handfuls, folding it through with your tongs. It will collapse from a bright, voluminous green to a deep, silky emerald within about 30 seconds — that's your cue that it's done.

Finish and rest. Stir in the cream cheese and half the Parmesan until the sauce turns a soft, rosy orange. Cover the pan and let it sit off the heat for 3 minutes. The sauce will tighten around the pasta and the flavours will settle.

Serve. Scatter over the remaining Parmesan and tear the basil leaves over the top. Serve straight from the pan with the tongs.