Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli

Want to make your own fresh pasta but don’t know where to start? I’m sharing my top tips along with a new recipe for making homemade Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli 🥟

My first tip for pasta making is to have fun! I meet so many people that say “I love pasta but I’ve never tried making my own”, it’s honestly not as hard as you think. Some of the best pastas are the simplest dishes and that goes for the pasta too. You can always start with easier shapes, for example you could just start with lasagne sheets or tagliatelle and as your confidence grows get more adventurous.

The dough

• 200g 00 flour

• 2 large eggs

The ratio of 100g to each egg always works well, so you can alter as required.

Do this however you feel comfortable, when I first started out making pasta regularly I used to use a mixing bowl as it was all I had, but now I have a big wooden board which I prefer to use, I know I’ve watched Gennaro Contaldo do it perfectly on a large plate too! Whatever you choose follow these simple steps:

1. Make a well in the centre of the pasta.

2. Crack the eggs into the well.

3. Using a fork gradually mix the egg and slowly introduce the flour (try to not break the wall if using a board).

4. It will start to form dough like clumps (I don’t know how else to explain it!), don’t worry, this is normal.

5. Using your hands, combine it together and begin to knead it to form a dough.

6. Knead it for 5-10 minutes until you get a springy dough.

7. Wrap it in cling film or a beeswax wrap and leave to rest for about 20-30 minutes.

   If you’re going to leave it any longer I recommend resting it in the fridge. I always used to think this was best but actually you can leave it at room temperature if it’s not for too long.

Spinach and ricotta ravioli

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients:

• 200g Ricotta
• 100g cooked spinach (weight when drained and squeezed of any excess water), then roughly chopped
• 25g grated parmesan cheese
• Freshly grated nutmeg to flavour
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. While your dough is resting you can be preparing the filling for your ravioli.

2. Mix the ricotta and spinach together in a bowl and add the parmesan, tehn season with a good grating of fresh nutmeg plus salt and pepper to taste. The nutmeg really does make all the difference to the flavour so if you have some, use it!

3. Now your filling is ready it’s time to roll the dough. If you have a pasta machine this is by far the easiest and quickest way to roll pasta sheets but if this is your first time use the rolling pin in your kit.

4. Halve the pasta dough to make it easier and on a well floured surface begin to roll your dough, keep rolling until you have a long, thin sheet of pasta, like a lasagne sheet, about 3mm thick and as long as you can get it.

5. Once your pasta dough is rolled and ready cut two sheets so they’re roughly the same size in length.

6. On one piece, start to place evenly spaced teaspoons of filling along the sheet, if you have one leave enough space for you to use the ravioli stamp around each ball of filling. Once you’ve done that, place the other piece of dough over the top and gently push round each bit of filling pushing out any air as you go. You can also fold the pasta dough over the filling if you find this easier, push out the air and seal the edges using a fork.

7. If you have a stamp use it to cut the raviolis. If these don’t cut through the dough use a pasta cutter wheel to define the shapes and edges and cut them into shape.

8. Place on a well floured baking tray, or tea towel. Use semolina or pastsa flour to stop the shapes from sticking.

9. To cook the ravioli bring a pan of water to the boil, add some salt and add the ravioli to the pan, let cook for approximately 3-5 minutes depending on how thick your dough was, they’ll float to the top when ready.

You’ve made your own fresh pasta dish from scratch!

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Top Tip

If you don’t want to cook all the ravioli at once or prepare in advance, put them in the fridge on the baking tray, or freeze them flat until they’re part frozen and put into a freezer bag to stop them sticking together.

Keep it simple when serving, either a drizzle of olive oil, black pepper and some parmesan or I added a little tomato sauce (fresh or chopped tomatoes with garlic, basil, olive oil and salt and pepper)

BUON APPETITO!

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Spaghetti Carbonara

Is there anything more comforting than a bowl of Spaghetti Carbonara; pasta with cheese and bacon, what’s not to like? This dish is an instant pick me up - it only takes 10 minutes to make, simple, tasty and delicious. This recipe traditionally uses spaghetti, guanciale and Pecorino Romano. I like to keep things straightforward for my recipes so have given you alternatives too.

Spaghetti Carbonara

• Prep time: 10 minutes

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients:

• 200g Spaghetti - I used linguine for this recipe, so mix it up with whatever is in the cupboard

• 1 large free range egg, 1 egg yolk

• 20g Pecorino

• 20g Parmesan, you could just use 40g of one cheese but I like the combination

• 75g diced pancetta - Guanciale is traditional so if you can get hold of it, go for it

• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the spaghetti until al dente, whilst you continue with the rest of the steps.

2. Beat the egg and whisk in the cheese, season with a pinch of salt and plenty of pepper

3. Cook the pancetta in a pan and keep all the lovely juices

4. Remove the pancetta pan from the heat and add the spaghetti with a splash of pasta water and combine it all together

5. The hardest part: adding the sauce! Removing the pancetta pan from the heat is really important so you don’t scramble the egg. Add the egg mixture and stir quickly to combine and make a silky sauce, add another splash of pasta water if it’s not smooth enough.

6. Plate up and serve with grated parmesan or pecorino.

Spaghetti carbonara

Top Tip: I find adding a splash of pasta water to the egg mixture just before adding to the pan helps prevent the egg scrambling, but you must add it quickly to the pasta.

Did you think carbonara should have cream? According to the heroes of Italian cooking (the late Antonio Carluccio for one) it’s a big no! The egg, cheese and pasta water make the creamy sauce for you.

Mushroom and thyme tagliatelle

Mushrooms are popular in northern Italian dishes and this dish seems perfect for the change in seasons - somewhere between summer and autumn where the sun is still occasionally shining but the air has turned a little colder and the sky has that crisp, rich blue hue - reminiscent of a scene in the Italian Alps or on the lakes of Italy. I used some homegrown ingredients from my Dad's allotment, including onion, garlic and fresh thyme!

Mushroom and thyme tagliatelle

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients:

• 150g tagliatelle

• 1 small onion

• 100g wild mushrooms, torn and stalks finely chopped

• 1 tbsp truffle oil

• Olive oil

• 1 garlic clove

• Fresh thyme, leaves picked

• 30g parmesan, grated

Ingredients for mushroom and thyme tagliatelle

Instructions:

1. Finely chop the onion and crush the garlic clove with the back of a knife, heat some olive oil in a pan over a medium heat and add the onion, crushed garlic clove (you'll remove this later) and season.

2. Bring a pan of water to the boil, add salt and the tagliatelle.

3. Whilst the pasta is cooking and when the onion is soft, remove the crushed garlic cove, add 1 tbsp of truffle oil and a knob of unsalted butter, and add the mushrooms along with thyme.

4. Once the mushrooms are soft, you're tagliatelle should be almost done, spoon the tagliatelle from the saucepan to the pan along with some of the pasta water and start to combine the pasta with the ingredients. As you do this add the parmesan to the dish to help create a silky sauce, add more pasta water as required.

5. Serve with a drizzle of truffle oil and parmesan.

Mushroom and thyme tagliatelle

Top Tip: As with all my recipes I like to keep them flexible and easy to make. So you can use any mushrooms but wild mushrooms or chestnut mushrooms tend to be tastier. They didn't have wild mushrooms when I headed for the weekly supermarket shop so we used their Asian selection instead!

Take part in my #MeatFreeMonday challenge as part of #HertsHour where people recreate one of my recipes and then share their photo on social media ... don't forget to tag @cookingcarafes to feature!

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Spaghetti with tomato and chilli

I’m embracing fresh produce more than ever, with my garden producing more tomatoes than I know what to do with and my mum and sister providing me with regular deliveries from their vegetable garden and allotment I seem to have fresh produce aplenty!

I can’t wait to get into our new house next year and have my own veg patch but until then I’ll reap the rewards of their hard work. August Bank Holiday weekend we visited the Chilli Festival at Benington Lordship in Hertfordshire and naturally returned home with a few fabulous chilli based products and of course a chilli plant! So with a night to myself I decided to cook a clean and simple dish and photograph it for the blog, and now it’s time to share it with you.

Chilli plant from Benington Lordship Chilli Festival

Spaghetti with tomato and chilli

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients:

• 100g homegrown cherry tomatoes, halved

• 150 - 200g spaghetti (or linguine)

• 1 garlic clove

• 1 chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

• Good quality olive oil

• Basil or parsley

• Pasta water or wine!

• Parmesan to serve

Ingredients for spaghetti with chilli and tomato

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil over a low heat and peel and lightly crush (with the back of a knife) the garlic clove. Add the garlic clove to the pan and allow it to flavour the oil.

2. Whilst that’s going on bring a pan of water to the boil ready for the pasta. Add the salt when it’s boiling and then add the pasta.

3. As the pasta cooks, put the chilli and tomatoes in the pan. Add a little seasoning.

4. The tomatoes will slowly start to break down to create a beautiful sauce, once this happens add a little white wine or some pasta water to help keep it from drying out and create more of a sauce. Add basil or parsely.

5. Cook the pasta until it’s al dente, then remove it from the pan using tongs or a spaghetti spoon and add it to the sauce, add a little pasta water and stir to cover and combine the spaghetti with the sauce.

6. Serve the pasta with freshly grated parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.

I promise you this simple dish won't disappoint. Recently I’ve realised more and more how clean and simple ingredients really do produce the best dishes, so I’m trying to stick to that theory. For more great recipes and regular updates sign up to my newsletter or follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook.

Spaghetti with tomato and chilli

Homemade fresh pasta shapes | Garganelli

I love making homemade pasta, it's so rewarding, as well as being therapeutic, but it also tastes incredible. I use dried pasta all the time; cooked right and paired with the right sauce it can taste delicious too but try homemade and taste the difference!

First inspired by Carmela Sereno of Carmela's Kitchen I ordered myself a garganelli board (now available on the shop!) and the rest is history. Carmela's are stunning, she combines multiple pasta to make colourful rainbow pasta shapes and the results are soooooo Instagram worthy. Check them out @carmelaskitchen

Garganelli pasta

Ingredients:

• Make a pasta dough using 00 flour and eggs, 1 egg to every 100g 00 pasta (1 egg / 100g per person)

Instructions:

1. Roll your pasta dough out to 6 or 7 on a pasta making machine.
2. Cut your dough into 4cm x 4cm squared pieces.
3. Place the square on the board as a diamond.
4. Gently, using the rod, roll the pasta around the rod (ensure it is well floured on the side rolling round the rod).
5. Seal the pasta by gently pressing it together or rolling lightly back across to seal the pasta.
6. Gently remove the garganelli from the rod and place on a baking tray with semolina or a tea towel to stop it sticking.
7. Continue with the rest of the pasta.

Garganelli is a great pasta for ragùs, as it catches all the sauce on the outside and inside.

Sign up to my newsletter to be the first to hear about my Pasta Making Workshops where you can learn to make fresh pasta like this for yourself, or check out my latest events.

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Perfect fresh pasta dough

This simple pasta dough recipe is perfect for using for a range of pasta, such as pappardelle, lasagne, ravioli and pasta shapes like farfalle or tortellini.

Whether you have a pasta making machine, or you want to roll out your own fresh pasta with a rolling pin, this is a great ratio to make perfect pasta every time.

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Egg pasta dough recipe

Servings: 1 person This recipe makes enough pasta for one person, so just multiply by the number of people you’re making for.

Ingredients:

• 100g 00 pasta flour
• 1 large egg

Instructions:

1. Place the pasta flour on a wooden board and create a well in the middle, like a volcano. Make sure you don;t build the sides too high otherwise your egg will overflow!
2. Crack the egg into the middle of the flour.
3. With a fork, gently whisk the egg and gradually pull in the flour to create a smooth batter before it becomes a sticky dough. Don't worry if it doesn't pick up all the flour.
4. Bring it together with your hands and gently knead for 10 minutes. To knead your dough use the palm of your hand to push the dough away from you and then fold back onto itself and rotate 90 degrees and continue kneading. Keep the board lightly floured and keep kneading until it becomes a smooth, soft and springy dough.
5. Once the dough is smooth and springy, roll into a ball like shape and wrap in a beeswax wrap, or teatowel/cling film and leave at room temperature for 20 - 30 minutes.
6. Once rested, if you’ve made a large quantity of dough, split it into smaller pieces to work with, especially if you’re using a machine.
7. You can then roll out sheets of pasta for lasagna, ravioli, pappardelle, or to create shapes.
8. If you're using a pasta machine, roll your dough through the widest setting at least four times. Then gradually move up the settings to create a thinner pasta dough, until it's the thickness you require.

Pappardelle

Pappardelle is one of my favourite pasta. The name speaks for itself, translated from the verb pappare meaning to ‘gobble up’ and that’s easy to do with pretty much any sauce! It's great for ragu, perfect for creamy sauces, or a simple pesto.

To make pappardelle flour the top of the sheet of pasta and roll it, like a log – then cut about 2 inches wide and place the strands on a floured board or tray. If you have lots to do place a tea towel on top to stop it drying out, then continue with the other pieces.

Sausage gnocchi

This recipe is the perfect mix of comfort food with goodness. It was a bit of an experimental dish but it’s now a firm favourite in our house! This is also great for packing veg in to a meal, you can add whatever you have in the fridge, the ingredients list isn’t exclusive!

Sausage gnocchi

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients:

• 6 x pork chipolata sausages

• 500g Gnocchi

• ½ red onion, finely chopped

• 250g chestnut mushrooms, quartered and sliced

• Cavolo nero or spinach

• 500g of passata or finely chopped tomatoes

• Olive oil

• Optional: ¼ tsp chilli flakes

Ingredients for sausage gnocchi

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C, cook the sausages for 30 minutes.

2. Heat the olive oil in a pan and soften the onion for about 5 minutes, then add the mushrooms.

3. If using kale cut the stem out of a few leaves and slice into shreds, fry these in the pan with the mushrooms for about 5 minutes.

4. Add the passata (and optional chilli flakes), leave to gently simmer and season.

5. If using spinach, add to the pan until it wilts down and stir in to the sauce.

6. Chop the sausages into chunks and add to the sauce and stir, leave to simmer all together for 5 minutes.

7. Whilst the sauce is simmering, boil a pan of salted water and cook the gnocchi according to the packet instructions.

8. Add the gnocchi to the sauce and stir.

9. Serve with grated parmesan.

Sausage gnocchi recipe

Top tip: Make sure there is plenty of water in your pan, when the gnocchi floats to the top it’s ready. For more recipes, ideas and inspiration to your inbox sign up to our newsletter

Let us know what you think of the recipe in the comments below and remember to share your own pictures of this dish with us on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook.

Fiery 'Nduja and chicken pasta

Ingredients for nduja and chicken pasta

This dish was an experiment after buying some 'Nduja from Hatfield Food Festival last year. I’m not a huge lover of chicken in pasta, I’d never order it out, but it turned out to be the perfect match! When I stumbled across 'Nduja again at my local Pearce’s Farm Shop (and have since discovered it is supplied by EatDrinkIdeas – who have amazing produce at local markets throughout Hertfordshire) I had to buy some so I could recreate this dish.

Although it’s not widely available in supermarkets, you should be able to pick some up in local delis and farm shops. 'Nduja is from Calabria in Sicily, made with pork fat, herbs and spices and has a kick to it with fiery chilli, which adds to its rich and vibrant red colour. You’ll find it dotted across menus; from pizza toppings to pasta sauces and for its more traditional use on bruschetta or crostini as it’s a spreadable sausage!

Fiery 'Nduja and chicken pasta

Servings: 2-3 people

Ingredients:

• 150-200g of pasta – penne, rigatoni or fusilli

• Red onion, finely chopped

• 400g Chopped tomatoes

• 50g 'Nduja sausage meat

• 250g chicken mini fillets, cut into smaller pieces

• Lemon juice of ½ a lemon

• 2 tbsp Freshly chopped parsley

• Parmesan to serve

Instructions:

1. Heat some olive oil in a pan on a medium heat and add the chicken and chopped onion and cook for 10 minutes until the chicken is browned.

2. Add the chopped tomatoes, parsley and nduja and stir together and season.

3. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Your sauce will be full of flavour and the tomatoes should have reduced a little.

4. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the sauce, this helps to calm some of the fieriness of the nduja but if you like it hot and spicy you can leave it out!

5. Add the pasta to the sauce with a splash of pasta water and stir so the sauce coats the pasta, it should stick beautifully to the penne or rigatoni.

6. Serve with an extra sprinkle of parsley and grated parmesan.

nduja and chicken pasta recipe

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Butternut Squash and Pancetta Risotto

As the seasons begin to change from summer to autumn, we turn our thoughts to what seasonal produce we can start cooking with. Butternut squash is a perfect staple to have in the cupboard for warming dishes as the nights get longer and the days get cooler.

Plus the health benefits of squash lead to a healthy heart, low blood pressure and reduced anxiety as it's rich in potassium and antioxidants.

So, kickstart your autumn with a tasty risotto that combines butternut squash with pancetta and parmesan for a creamy, flavoursome finish.

Risotto with butternut squash and pancetta

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients:

• 1 celery stick (finely chopped)

• 1 carrot (quartered and finely chopped)

• 1 small white onion (finely chopped)

• 150 - 200g arborio or carnaroli risotto rice

• 1L of vegetable stock

• ½ butternut squash

• 75g diced pancetta pre-packaged is fine

• Parmesan to stir into the risotto and to serve

• Olive oil

• 2 sprigs of thyme

Instructions:

1. Halve the squash and peel the half you want to use removing any seeds. Chop into cubes approximately 1cm x 1cm, place in an ovenproof dish, drizzle with some olive oil and some thyme (or rosemary) and cook it in the oven for 30 minutes.
2. Next make the soffritto for the risotto – Italians use this base for lots of dishes from sauces to stews. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the onion, celery and carrot on a medium heat for five minutes, stir frequently to stop it burning. You need it to soften and turn almost a golden colour.

3. Once you’re happy with your soffritto, add the risotto rice to the pan and stir to ensure each grain is coated in olive oil, the grains will turn almost translucent, this should only take a minute or two – don’t let them burn.

4. Add a splash of white wine and let it evaporate before adding the stock.

5. Next add a ladleful of your pre-prepared stock and as it simmers stir frequently until the water has almost all evaporated, continue a ladle at a time until the rice is al dente, this should take about 20 minutes but continue as necessary until cooked. You may use more or less of the stock stated.

6. Fry the pancetta cubes separately until they’re browned. Alternatively put them in before the soffritto and cook them together.

7. Finally, add the butternut squash and season. Stir in the pancetta.

8. Serve with grated parmesan. Risotto is naturally creamy as the starch is released but if you want to add some butter, add some right at the end and stir or just grate some parmesan in before serving.

Risotto with butternut squash and pancetta

Top tip: Cooking risotto can be hard but take your time and don’t think adding more stock at once will make it cook quicker, it won’t!

Perfectly paired with: Since this is a full bodied dish it needs full bodied wine to match, otherwise the wine will seem watery and thin. This is a brilliant opportunity to try an Apassimento wine. In particular U Passimiento by Baglio Gibellina will have the body to match but also the pronounced fruit character will compliment the rich and salty pancetta as well as the earth notes of the butternut squash.

This recipe was originally published in Herts Balance magazine by myself.

For more great food and wine ideas...

Read more about the recommended wine along with another great autumnal recipe for a butternut squash salad in the online version of Herts Balance, click here and turn to page 28 to read more.

Butternut squash salad

Risotto con funghi e pecorino Moliterno al tartufo

This recipe has come about for several reasons, firstly I asked my Twitter followers a poll for what type of Italian dish they wanted a recipe for next, and risotto won. Secondly, I visited Hertford's Farmers Market (the second Saturday of every month 8:30am - 1pm) this weekend and met the Cheese Teller and was in awe of their beautiful cheeses and the stories behind them.

We formed an orderly queue for cheese and with each person came more cheese knowledge, as well as tasters for multiple cheeses! The first gentlemen had us all curious about pecorino with truffle paste in the cheese - I couldn't resist so had to try a bit. The flavour of the truffle is powerful and quite strong but coupled with the creamy nuttiness you often get with pecorino it was out of this world.

Mary from the Cheese Teller, at fa armers market in Hertford

The Moliterno pecorino al tartufo is made in Sardinia but is named after the village where it was first produced; Moliterno in Basilicata. The cheese is now rather ‘ famous’ and won the silver world cheese award 2013-2014. They inject the black truffle into the cheese after it has been matured for around one year. They manage to infuse the entire cheese with that amazing, powerful truffle flavour. The Moliterno pecorino al tartufo is made in Sardinia but is named after the village where it was first produced; Moliterno in Basilicata.

The cheese is now rather ‘famous’ and won the silver world cheese award 2013-2014. They inject the black truffle into the cheese after it has been matured for around 1 year and they manage to infuse the entire cheese with that amazing, powerful truffle flavour.So what was I going to make with this delicious cheese... RISOTTO! I've based the recipe on two people this time as risotto can be time consuming but you can easily halve it.

Ingredients

• Olive oil

• 1 x onion (finely chopped)

• White wine

• Handful of porcini mushrooms

• 6 x rashers of pancetta

• 1 litre of vegetable stock

• 200g of risotto rice (measures vary for this so it really depends how much you love risotto, some people do the same as pasta and base it on 75g per person but I don't think this is quite enough)

• Pecorino Moliterno al tartufo

Method

1. I always prepare my stock first, boil the kettle to make it easy and have it ready in a measuring jug. Soak the porcini mushrooms also in boiling water whilst you prepare the rest of the risotto (about 30 minutes).

2. Next heat two tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan and on a low heat cook the onions until they are soft.

3. Add your risotto to the pan and stir for a couple of minutes in the oil until all the grains are covered and almost look translucent. Next add a glug or two of wine and let the grains absorb the wine and the alcohol evapourate - stir continuously.

4. Next add a ladeful of stock and continue to stir - once all the water is absorbed, add some more. Continue this for about 30 minutes, stirring almost constantly whilst it simmers.Top tip:Add a small amount of stock each time to the risotto and leave it until its nearly absorbed before adding more.

5. Whilst you're cooking the risotto rice cook the pancetta slices whole and then cut into smaller pieces once cooked and put to one side.

6. Drain the porcini mushrooms and cut into smaller pieces if necessary, then soften in the same pan the pancetta was cooked in for a minute or so and put to one side with the pancetta

7. Once the risotto has absorbed the water and is al dente with a creamy texture stir in the pancetta and mushrooms (you can leave aside some pancetta if you wish to place on top).

8. Finally add some small pieces of Pecorino Moliterno al tartufo and stir in - add to taste but bear in the mind the strong flavours will come out over time.

9. Serve and wow your guests with this marvellous dish, couple it with a good red wine like amarone or Barolo and they won't forget this delicious dinner in a hurry!

Spaghetti with prawns

This is one of my all time favourite dishes, and there are so many twists on it. Whether I'm at home or eating out at an Italian restaurant I love spaghetti ai frutti di mare or con gamberetti, you'll find this served with linguine too. So this dish is really one you can make depending on what you have in the cupboard and throw in the extras when you want them!

Key ingredients are:

• Prawns

• Spaghetti

• Tomato puree / tinned chopped tomatoes or passata

• Olive oil

• Lemon

• White wine, it's not essential but certainly adds to the flavour

This is my go to dish when I want something quick and tasty after a busy day in the office or if I'm home later than normal. In terms of quantities, I use a spaghetti measurer dependant on the number of people and judge the prawns on the number of people and how hungry I am! Other things you can add to the sauce:

• Garlic or finely chopped shallots

• Courgette

• Parsley or coriander

• Chilli flakes

• Capers

• Chorizo - this is a great combo with the chilli flakes

Spaghetti and sauce with prawns

Instructions:

1. Because this dish is so quick to make (about 10 minutes), I always start by boiling the water with a pinch of salt and getting the spaghetti on.

2. Next, dependant on what you're adding to your sauce, heat some olive oil in a frying pan. If you're adding shallots or garlic (or both) add them until they are softened but not browning.

3. Add the prawns and some lemon juice or zest, followed by a glug of white wine (if you want to add this) and any herbs you want to add (again they're not a necessity). This is also a good time to add chilli flakes if you want to give it a bit of a fiery kick, which is softened by the lemon.

4. The next part depends on what you have in the cupboard, I've often made this with chopped tomatoes but tomato puree gives you a smoother sauce so it's up to you.

5. Add an adequate amount of tomatoes depending on the number of people (1/4 - 1/2 can per person) or a tablespoon of tomato puree, stir it in and I often add a splash of cooking water from the pasta, this is necessary with the puree and even more so if you haven't added any wine. You'll also need to season the sauce with salt and pepper.

6. Once you're happy with your sauce and its consistency, add the spaghetti into the pan - don’t pour the sauce on to the spaghetti! Stir everything together, and now is a good time to add any extras like capers or chorizo.

7. Using a spaghetti spoon serve the pasta along with all your ingredients mixed in and top with either rocket or your herbs of choice and a good grind of black pepper on top - hai finito! You've finished!