THREE MEAT PENNE WITH TOMATO AND BASIL SAUCE

With it's grooved exterior and hollow centre, the penne is really good for soaking up sauces. See how the sauce and cheese sticks onto the penne. Every bite is guaranteed to be a flavourful one! I managed to find some nice, huge, red and juicy fresh tomatoes at the supermarket, so this time i'm not using the canned variety.

Ingredients

Penne for 2 persons

3 large tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped

1 large onion, roughly chopped

Half of a whole garlic, chopped

A handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons of oregano

2 tablespoons of rosemary

1 tablespoon of smoked paprika

2 teaspoons of black pepper

4 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese

3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese

200g minced beef

8 slices of your favourite pepperoni

8 rashes of bacon

Olive oil

Method

In a pot of salted water, cook the penne until al dente, drain the water, dress with olive oil and chopped basil, put it aside.

On a hot pan, cook the bacon until crispy, put it aside.

With some olive oil in a hot pan, saute the garlic and onions till the onions are translucent.

Add all the other herbs and spices and cook till aromatic.

Pour in the finely chopped tomatoes and bring it to a boil.

Add the minced beef and turn off the heat. Minced beef cooks pretty fast, so this will make sure the beef is not overcooked.

Assembly

Mix 3/4 of the mozzarella cheese and the crispy bacon into the sauce and pour it over the pasta. 

Stir it in well to make sure the sauce gets to every bit of pasta.

Put the pasta into an oven proof bowl and place the pepperoni on top and sprinkle the remaining cheeses on top.

Put the bowl on the top shelf of an oven on high heat just to melt the cheese on the top.

When the cheese is melted, take the bowl out of the oven, plate it and it's ready to be served.

Enjoy!