Spaghetti, pork meatballs in a tomato and pepper sauce

Another mid-week favourite in my household, this takes around 30 minutes to cook. I use shop-bought pork meatballs to save time and effort - Ocado and Tesco both do good versions for this recipe.

Ingredients

420g pork meatballs
3 x large tomatoes, chopped
Small sweet red pepper, chopped
Squirt of tomato ketchup or concentrated tomato puree
Medium sized onion, chopped
Heaped teaspoon of dried rosemary
Half a cup plain flour

Dry spaghetti - approx 70g per person.

Method

• Roll the meatballs in flour and fry them in a tablespoon of sunflower oil, to seal their surface and partially cook them through.
• Remove from the frying pan and tip in the chopped onion and tomatoes. Cook for five minutes, adding up to half a cup of water to 'let down' the sauce if it looks as if it is too thick.
• Add the red pepper and the meatballs back into the pan with the sauce, season with salt, pepper and dried rosemary and cook on a low heat for 15 minutes.
• While the pan contents are simmering, cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions.
• Drain the pasta, divide among three bowls, serve the meatballs and sauce on top.

Chorizo and tomato pasta bowl

This is an approximation of a great meal I ate in a small Greek cafe in the Forest of Dean. The windows were all steamy and the plastic tables gave no hint of the delicious meals the staff could serve up. This recipe serves three as a lunch or light supper.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped (or any onion will be fine)

• 250g raw chorizo sausages, cut into bite-sized pieces.

• 55g tomato purée

• One tomato, chopped 

• Eight big handfuls of short pasta, such as fusilli or penne, cooked according to packet instructions (approx 250g)

• Sea salt and black pepper

• Basil

Preparation

• Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium to high heat. Add the onion and cook for two minutes. 

• Add the chorizo and cook for a further five minutes, or until golden brown all over. If you can find soft cooking chorizo, all the better, but any type is fine.

• Add to the pan the tomatoes, tomato puree and a generous scattering of basil, fresh or dried. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for around 12-15 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and either coarsely ground or ground black pepper. 

• Cook the pasta while the chorizo mixture simmers. Drain it and stir the pasta into the sausage mixture, then divide into shallow bowls or plates to serve.