INGREDIENTS:

• 500-600g of Rigatoni dried pasta (or Penne if you can’t find any Rigatoni)

• 1 tin good quality Italian tomatoes

• 6 rashers smoked bacon (sliced into thin strips)

• Small tub of ricotta cheese

• 1 orange and 1 yellow pepper (chopped into chunks)

• 1 large green chilli – sliced (add to taste, the larger the chilli – the milder it will be)

• 1-2 courgettes (quite thickly sliced)

• A handful sliced mushrooms

• About 1/3 of a Parmesan block – grated.

• 3-4 garlic cloves (thinly sliced or crushed)

• 1 bag of rocket

• Lots of good quality olive oil

 Obviously, if you are a vegetarian – you can omit the bacon. This dish is very adaptable and great with Pumpkin or Aubergine too.

DIRECTIONS:

As always – pour the ‘chef’ a glass of wine!
Next slosh some olive oil into a nice size frying pan, heat it up a little and throw in your garlic. Add your chunks of pepper and your chilli.
Drink some wine!
You want to get these peppers really lovely and soft so you can either turn the heat RIGHT DOWN and just come back and stir them occasionally or if you are pushed for time, put them on a moderate heat – but keep them moving in the pan. When they start to soften a little – add the bacon. 
Drink some wine!
Add the sliced courgette, mushrooms and the tin of tomatoes. This then needs to be left over a low heat for a good half an hour to really get the vegetables soft and for all the flavours to converge – so you may as well put your feet up and…….drink some wine! Keep an eye on it though as you will need to stir it occasionally. 
When everything is nice and soft and you have a good thick consistency, add your ricotta and stir it in. Don’t be alarmed – it hasn’t curdled, Ricotta is a grainy cheese.  
Drink some wine :) and get a saucepan of salted water boiling, ready for your pasta (it stops the pasta congealing if you add some olive oil to the water). 
When the water has come to the boil, add your pasta and cook for about 8-10mins. DO NOT RUIN YOUR DISH BY OVER COOKING YOUR PASTA - it should still be firm.
Drink some wine!
Whilst the pasta is cooking add some of your parmesan to the sauce and stir in (save some to sprinkle on the top at the end). 
Finally, combine the cooked pasta with the sauce in the one pot and stir it all in together, giving the pasta a really good coating. Serve on a plate (obviously) and top with a handful of rocket and some Parmesan. Some Ciabatta dipped in olive oil as a side dish isn’t a bad idea – but optional! 
 

If you are planning to cook this dish for a large number of people it is great as a pasta bake. Just put the completed dish into a couple of deep lasagne (or casserole) dishes, top it off with some grated cheeses of your choice and pop it into the oven about 30-40 mins before your guests arrive to eat it. If it has been refrigerated prior to reheating – it will take a lower heat and longer to cook through! 

Please try this recipe out and let me know what you think!

So how did you all get on with last months recipe? I hope some of you tried it out. Just got back from Italy (very hot – 45 degrees in Naples) and it was fantastic. Obviously the food was superb, the wine was incredible, the women …..

I would strongly suggest that to experience this dish in the way the Italians do, you must invite all your family/friends round, (adjust the quantities to accommodate), drink copious amounts of wine (washed down with a few espressos) and all talk at once around the table. You will all be feeling very lively, as this meal will have followed a two-hour afternoon snooze! Enjoy!