I tried out this recipe this evening and it’s really easy, really tasty and low fat – brilliant! I halved the quantities here for the two of us, except for the 400g tin of chopped tomatoes. I think next time I’d put a whole chilli in for 2 people, but that’s just personal preference! I used linguine here, which was slightly on the done side because we were trying to rescue a butterfly…

This recipe comes from the July 2014 edition of BBC Good Food magazine.

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large aubergine, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
400g/14oz fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped (or a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
400g/14oz dried tagliolini pasta (we used linguine)
Small bunch of basil, roughly chopped
50g/2oz pecorino, grated (or veggie alternative)

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and cook the aubergine for 5 minutes until starting to brown and soften.

2. Add the onion, garlic, chilli and oregano and cook for just a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and about 200ml water, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 20 minutes until the tomatoes are reduced and the sauce is thickened.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the tagliolini following the pack instructions. Drain the pasta and return to the pan. Add the sauce and toss well into the pasta with the basil. Serve with the grated pecorino.

Enjoy!

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This recipe takes hardly any time at all to make, so it’s a delicious meal for a weeknight. The combination of flavours is really good (although the first time we made it we were missing the sage because I couldn’t find any at the supermarket!). You could easily make a bigger batch for family or friends, or even leave out the Parma ham for a veggie version. I had linguine, but Tom has wholewheat fusilli instead – use whichever pasta you prefer.

Ingredients (serves 2)

2 tbsp olive oil
400g cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped sage
a pinch of dried crushed chilli flakes
3 garlic cloves, crushed
sea salt flakes, crushed
85g Parma ham, slices separated
150g dried linguine
125g ricotta

Method

1. Warm the oil in a medium pan and tip in the cherry tomatoes, sage, chilli flakes, garlic and a generous pinch of sea salt.

2. Cook together for 10-15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the tomatoes have begun to soften – press them with the back of a spoon to squash them slightly.

3. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Separate the slices of Parma ham and slice into strips – dry-fry in a frying pan for a few minutes until crisp.

4. Boil the pasta according to pack instructions, drain, then return to the pan and toss with the hot tomato mixture and the strips of Parma ham.

5. Add the ricotta, in small pieces, toss once more and serve in warmed bowls.

This recipe is taken from the Sainsbury’s magazine website.

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I often decided to make up a recipe when I have a particular ingredient that needs using up, and this recipe came out of one of those occasions. We had a little bit of goats cheese left and, after feeling uninspired following a quick internet search, I decided to get a few simple ingredients and go for it! You don’t need much of the goats cheese at all – if you don’t like really rich food then you could probably just leave it out. We used some salami Napoli here, which is optional too if you would prefer a meat version.

This recipe uses the creamy basil pesto recipe that I’ve already posted, so you’ll need to make a batch of that before cooking the rest of the ingredients.

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

Linguine (cook enough for 2-3 people)
Olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped into fairly small pieces (but not finely chopped)
A handful of cup mushrooms, quartered
8 slices of salami Napoli (optional)
Ground black pepper
100g baby leaf spinach
1 batch of creamy basil pesto (click on link above)
25-50g goats cheese to serve (optional)

Method

1. Add some boiling water to a pan and cook the linguine according to the packet instructions.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pan, and add the onions. Cook until softened and beginning to brown before adding the mushrooms.

3. If adding the salami, tear each slice in half and add to the pan. Leave for a few minutes to cook.

4. Just before the pasta is ready, add the spinach to the onion and mushrooms, along with some ground black pepper. Allow the spinach to wilt a little.

5. Drain the pasta and stir the pesto through. Then add the vegetables and stir again. Plate up and then crumble a little goats cheese over the top, with a little more black pepper.

Enjoy!

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