Creamy, tomato and garlic pasta

A weekday favourite, this low-effort pasta dish packs a punch.

Cooking time:  Around 20 minutes

This is my spin on a dish I had in Nice, France back in 2003, and it’s been a family favourite ever since.  I like it with a lot of garlic, but if you want a more mellow sauce, just add fewer cloves.  If you fancy bulking it out or are catering for a larger group, it goes really well with garlic bread.

Ingredients (serves 2):

• Pasta (I think penne works best) – 200g
• Unsmoked back bacon – 4 rashers, sliced into strips
• Garlic – 4 to 6 gloves (depending on size), crushed/minced
• Passata (sieved tomatoes) – 250g
• Half-fat crème fraiche – 150ml
• Sun-dried tomatoes – 8 pieces (from a jar), sliced into strips
• Fresh basil leaves – torn, to garnish

Method:

1. Put a pan of water (with a sprinkle of salt, and a dash of oil) on to boil for the pasta, while you slice the bacon and peel the garlic;
2. Brown the bacon strips in a frying pan (the bacon's fat means you won’t need any additional oil), then add the garlic. I use a garlic press to crush the cloves directly into the frying pan, but if you don’t have a garlic press you can just crush them on a chopping board;
3. Once you’ve browned the bacon and garlic, pour the passata into the frying pan and bring to a gentle simmer.  At this point, the pan of water should be at a rolling boil, so you can add the pasta and cook in accordance with the pack’s instructions;
4. Once the passata is simmering, add the crème fraiche, mix thoroughly, then bring the sauce back to a gentle simmer while the pasta finishes cooking.  This should produce a nice, thick sauce that will coat the pasta;
5. Drain the pasta, then return it to the pan, before pouring over the sauce. Mix well to ensure all of the pasta is well-coated, then add the sliced sun-dried tomatoes and stir through.  Dish up into bowls, and garnish with the torn fresh basil leaves.

Creamy, tomato and garlic pasta