This really simple recipe was inspired by my friend Jules who cooked something similar for us when we were staying with them in Moscow a few years back. Since then we’ve had this for dinner regularly. It’s delicious and easy to make and the tomato sauce recipe is handy to use a base for a lot of other pasta dishes. It will also keep both vegetarians and meat eaters happy.
Serves 2
2 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
2 small dried chillies, chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp of sugar
200g lardons
200g pasta
Heat a little olive oil in a pan and fry the onions and garlic until soft. Then add the chilli and cook for another couple of minutes.
Stir in the tinned and fresh tomatoes, pepper and sugar and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes. You can make it ahead and simply heat it up again when you want to eat.
Meanwhile, grill the lardons under the grill until crispy.
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
Drain the pasta and pour it into the pan with the sauce. Mix it all together until the pasta is well coated. Serve into bowls and sprinkle with the crispy lardons.
Top tip
To take the skin off the tomato, immerse it in a jug of boiling water for about a minute, then pierce the skin with the tip of a knife. The skin should peel off easily.
Sandy, this sounds and looks delish, I’m gonna try it this week. Will let you know how it goes x
Definitely give it a try, Paula, and let me know how it goes.