8-12 large tomatoes
1 small onion
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Tomato purée
Hot chili powder
Olive oil
2-3 bird’s eye chilis
1 bay leaf
Fresh basil, coarsely chopped
Thick cut bacon or smoked suasage (Matteson’s smoked pork sausage is the best)
Double cream
Tabasco (optional)
6-8 oz penne pasta
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Freshly milled black pepper

How to do it!

Finely chop the tomatoes.

Finely chop the onion.

Finely chop/crush the garlic.

Chop chilis (keep the seeds in if you like it hot).

Chop and fry 4 bacon rashers or chop enough smoked sausage for 2 people, then set aside.

Add pasta to lightly salted boiling water in a large suacepan. Give it a good stir.

Heat a healthy wad of olive oil in a wide frying pan.

Add onion, garlic, chilis and a few shakes of chili powder and fry for 3 mins.

Add chopped tomatoes, a big squirt of tomato purée and a bay leaf.

Heat until it starts to bubble.

Add chopped bacon or sliced smoked sausage and a good big clump of chopped, fresh basil and gently fry for a few mins.

Taste. If you want it hotter, just add a few dashes of Tabasco. Mmmmm….

Add as much cream as you want and stir in! But not too much.

Cook for a further 2 mins.

Taste. Season with salt and a wee pinch of sugar to taste.

Drain pasta and add to sauce (always add pasta to sauce, not the other way around. It just works better that way and you don’t waste even a micron of that precious sauce).

Sprinkle with some chopped basil and serve with infeasibly large amounts of freshly milled black pepper and lashings of freshly grated parmesan.

Eat, enjoy, then loosen the belt or undo a couple of trouser buttons…

“See it all, till tomorrow”