Sweet, Spicy Cherry Tomato Pasta
By: Karen Vivers
Published: Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - 1:42am

Ingredients




2 x tbsp olive oil
2 x shallots chopped finely
3 or 4 cloves of garlic chopped finely
2 x red chili’s chopped finely
300gr / 6.5 oz. x bacon, chopped into small cubes
600gr / 1.3 lb. x cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 x ripe tomato chopped finely
2 x tsp of tomato purée
Juice of one lemon
2 x tbsp honey
A dash of good quality balsamic vinegar (optional)
A handful of flat parsley chopped finely
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Some freshly grated or shaved parmesan, fresh basil leaves and a drizzle of virgin olive oil to dress

Preparation

1 1.Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan. 2 2.Set your spaghetti on to cook as per instructions on the packet. 3 3.Add the shallots, garlic, chili to the hot oil in the frying pan and cook for just under a minute, add the bacon and cook for about two minutes or until it is cooked through. 4 4.De-glaze with half of the lemon juice, stir through. 5 5.Add the tomatoes, tomato purée, honey and a little salt (not too much as the bacon might be salty) and some pepper. Cook on a medium heat, letting everything simmer gently. 6 6.Take about 4 to 6 tbsps of the water in which your pasta is cooking and add it to the sauce, stir through and cook until the tomatoes soften, this should take just over five minutes. 7 7.Check for seasoning, add the rest of the lemon juice, the parsley. Add the balsamic vinegar if you think the sauce needs it or adjust the flavour in any other way. At this stage if I want more spice, I tend to add a few flakes of dried chili. 8 8.Add the pasta when it is ready. I like to do this straight from the pan in which it is cooking by dragging it into the sauce with some tongs. This sauce can be a bit dry and can benefit from the extra moisture. 9 9.Dress with the parmesan, basil and olive oil before serving.

About

I have this thing, I suppose you could call it a challenge.  It's a personal challenge, kind of secret, until now.  It's about pasta.  It's also about cooking quickly.  The thing is I like to challenge myself to make a really tasty sauce in the time, or less than the time it takes to cook my pasta.  I have loads of these sauces - some of them are so simple I don't dare to even call them a sauce.  This is the latest in that category.  And, like most of my recipes, it's very forgiving - you can play with the flavours to suit your taste.  Give it a go, just don't get caught up in my crazy challenges.