Pasta with tomato and baked beans sauce

When you have hungry, tired and a little poorly kids at home, a steaming bowl of pasta in tomato sauce might just make their day better. It worked in my house! There is something very comforting and summary in a pasta dish with the heady aroma of tomatoes and oregano. This is a vibrant dish and baked beans give it an extra depth of flavour. It’s a trusted recipe, one that I go back to all year round. Hope you’ll enjoy it too.

A packet of pasta

1 packet of smoked bacon, chopped

1 onion, sliced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 carton of passata

1tsp sugar

1tsp dried oregano

1tsp paprika

1 tin of baked beans

1. Cook pasta according to the packet instructions. I used farfalle and wholewheat spirals.

2. Heat up the frying pan and add bacon. Fry on high heat until crisp.

3. Add the onion - at this stage you should have enough fat from the bacon to fry the onion until soft. If not, just add a tablespoon of olive oil.

4. Add garlic and fry for a minute or so. Make sure it doesn’t brown as it’ll make it taste bitter.

5. Add passata, sugar, oregano, paprika and a cup of water from the pasta pot. Cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce reduces slightly in volume.

6. Add baked beans and cook for a few more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

7. Add pasta, mix well together and serve.