Tomato Sauce with Pasta

I know, pasta is not exactly an unknown student food, but that doesn't mean it can't be tasty. I have made this tomato sauce many times, it is really cheap as well as being yummy and healthy. Yesterday, I tried making homemade pasta for the first time and had it with this sauce, I fed it to my mum, my brother and my sister and it was so successful it has been requested again. I was worried about making pasta, but it was really easy (and I made it completely by hand, no pasta machine involved), quite therapeutic to make and a nice way to spend an hour or so. Obviously, I won't be using it all the time, but I would encourage everyone to try it! Here's the recipe...

Pasta (to serve four)

300g plain flour

3 eggs

Put the flour into a bowl and make a well in the middle, crack the eggs into the well and beat using a fork. Gradually incorporate the flour into the eggs. When it is all beginning to stick, use your hand to bring it together (adding a bit more flour or water if needed). Place onto a floured surface and knead until lovely and smooth (5 minutes+, it's up to you really). Wrap in cling film and leave to rest for an hour or so....

.....when it has rested, flour a large surface (probably a clean table) and roll the dough out nice and thin (not too thin though), keep turning the pasta and adding more flour if necessary to stop it sticking. When it's rolled out, cut it into the required shapes (I made tagliatelle for this recipe). Put the strips onto a plate, and cover with clingfilm until ready to use.

When ready to use, add to a pan of boiling slightly salted water. Return to the boil and then cook for about a couple of minutes (time will vary depending how thick your pasta is, taste it to be sure!), before draining and stirring in the sauce.

Tomato Sauce (serves four)

One onion (chopped, as fine as you like)

Two tins of chopped tomatoes

About a tablespoon of tomato puree

Teaspoon of sugar

Dried basil (or fresh if you've got it)

8 rashers of streaky bacon (completely optional, obviously)

Fry the onion in a little oil until softened (this will take about ten minutes), then add the tomatoes, tomatoe puree, sugar and basil to the pan. Bring to the boil and then leave to simmer until the water has evaporated and you are left with a thick sauce (this will take about 20 minutes or so, be careful not to let it dry out). Meanwhile, fry the bacon until crispy and place onto kitchen towel to absorb the excess fat. When the sauce is finished, chop up the bacon and stir in. Add the sauce to the pasta and stir through, before serving.

Serve with grated cheese

Even with ready made pasta, this sauce is really good and being made from storecupboard ingredients, a good tea is never more than 30 minutes away! (The sauce is versatile, add fresh basil, garlic, chilli, whatever you fancy)