Whether you have a busy schedule or just want a no-fuss weeknight supper idea, this pasta dish from Heleen Meyer is a great recipe to have on hand. All you need to do is sauté a few ingredients to prepare an aromatic tomato sauce and toss it into warm pasta with a protein of your choice. You may think of these as just a few basic ingredients but combine them, and you have a taste explosion.
Cook once, eat many times
This tomato sauce can be used in a lot of ways, so make a big batch when you have the time and freeze it in big enough portions, according to your family’s needs. In the recipe below tomatoes, bacon, herbs and a flavourful cheese are combined for a delicious, quick and easy supper.
You can enjoy the tomato sauce on pasta but be creative and use it in any of these ways:
- Heat some of the sauce in a pan and fry eggs in the sauce – it’s a wonderful combination for a light meal.
- Serve the tomato sauce with any meat of your choice and it’s a delicious sauce with boerewors (sausage) at a braai.
- Pour some sauce over meat balls or fish portions and bake them in the oven.
- Or stir in any cooked protein of your choice, from left-over steak to tuna or chicken and serve as a meal on its own, on couscous, any other starch of your choice or even with roasted veggies.
- Add lentils, chickpeas or beans to the sauce for a vegetarian meal.
Another supper sorted!
Pasta perfection
Heleen says she has realised over the years, that South Africans tend to eat sauce on their pasta and quite a lot of it too. Yet, if you look at how the Italians prepare a pasta dish, the ratio of pasta to sauce is much closer to being equal – this recipe is a great example of that. In the tomato-based sauce, the sautéed onion, garlic and red peppers add a rich depth of flavour and pan-fried baby tomatoes lend a lovely sweetness. This is tossed into warm pasta with bacon and served with shavings of cheese – it’s so delicious!
And when you cook pasta, remember these top tips from Heleen.
- Make sure that the pasta pot is big enough and that the water is rapidly boiling before adding the pasta.
- Only cook pasta to ‘al dente’ – overcooked pasta can be rather stodgy.
- Add olive oil to the warm, drained pasta and not to the water as many people do. Oil in the water only floats on top and makes no difference to the pasta. Rather enjoy the flavour of the oil as part of the dish.
- Grated lemon rind and juice, stirred into the hot, drained pasta, is a surprisingly good flavour enhancer – do try it.
Pasta with tomato & bacon
Recipe by Heleen Meyer
Serves 4
30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 red pepper, seeded and cubed
200 g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 x 410 g tin chopped tomatoes
30-45 ml (2-3 tbsp) chopped fresh herbs, like basil, origanum, thyme and Italian parsley
finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
salt and black pepper to taste
250 g short pasta shapes, like fusilli, penne or shells, cooked and kept warm
250 g bacon, cooked and cut into chunks
pecorino or any other hard cheese, made into shavings with a veggie peeler
lemon wedges, extra fresh herbs and olive oil to serve
- Heat half of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onion, garlic and pepper until soft.
- Stir in the cherry tomatoes and sauté for a few minutes.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and herbs, season to taste with lemon rind, juice, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer without a lid for 15-20 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Stir in the remaining oil and season if necessary. (At this point the sauce can be cooled and frozen in portions for another meal.)
- Mix the tomato sauce with the warm pasta and bacon. Toss well and allow to heat through.
- Serve with pecorino, lemon wedges and more fresh herbs. Finish with an extra drizzle of olive oil for added creaminess and a good grind of black pepper.
Visit Heleen’s website (www.heleenmeyer.co.za) for more recipes like this.
Image by Adel Ferreira