Extra Saucy Pappardelle with Chilli Bacon Tomato Sauce, Blistered Baby Tomatoes
This is a straightforward dish to make. I made it a few weeks ago and gave the leftovers to mates to bring home for their kids. The feedback I got was impressive, but I was secretly quite chuffed. "Eh, when are we getting more of Katie's chilli pasta? That's all I want!”…
I made another batch over the past weekend, and I refined it a bit more. It does take 2 hours or so to cook, but like with all decent tomato-based tomato sauces, the longer you cook it, the better the flavour.
I used Chef Luca Ciano Pappardelle this weekend; I'll be straight-up; this is one of the best fresh egg pasta I've ever enjoyed eating at home. I'm usually more of a dried pasta fan, as I love it the next day, especially when you throw it all in a pan, heat it up and allow the day-old spaghetti, etc, to get a bit crispy and crunchy. You can't do this with fresh egg pasta, but when serving this sauce on the day it's made, I found this particular pasta brand outstanding.
I am usually paranoid that I'm going to boil the egg pasta to a disastrous mushy mess, and hence, I stand staring at it like a hawk while it cooks, but this one was perfect when I followed the packet instructions—about 3-4 mins.
I also used Bippi's Italian chilli – I bought this product a few weeks ago with a load of other hot sauces/chilli oils (note, I'll do a separate post on these later this week). I like this Bippi's stuff. It's not mega hot, and I find it easy to add to sauces in increments where I don't end up blowing anyone's heads off. You can get it online at their site or in coles or Woolies.
YOU WILL NEED
2 punnets baby tomatoes
1 BROWN ONION – PEELED AND FINELY DICED
1 TBSP SQUEEZY GARLIC/MINCED GARLIC
400G GOOD QUALITY SMOKED BACON, EXCESS FAT REMOVED, DICED
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
800G TOMATO SAUCE – I USED LUCIA’S
1 cup/250ml full bodied, gutsy red wine – I used a Barossa shiraz
good handful large fresh basil leaves, stalks removed, leaves roughly torn
minced chilli - i used bippi’s italian style
generous seasoning of Maldon SALT
FRESHLY GROUND black pepper
good quality olive oil
Fresh parmesan, finely grated
600g fresh egg pappardelle – i used chef luca ciano brand
Preheat oven to 180˚C.
Heat a good glug of olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and season with a decent pinch of salt. sauté for 4-5 minutes until soft, stirring often. Squeeze in the garlic. Continue cooking over medium heat for a further 5 minutes, again stirring often. Remove the contents of the pan and add them to a bowl, set aside.
Return the pan to the heat, glug in another tbsp of olive oil, and add the diced bacon. Cook over medium heat until browned and starting to caramelise. Add the onions back in and stir to combine. Fry over medium-high heat, then add balsamic to deglaze the pot, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Add your pasta sauces, red wine and torn basil. Combine well. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Place baby tomatoes on a baking tray lined with parchment. Drizzle with olive oil and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Turn down the oven temperature to 140˚C and roast for 40-60 minutes until well softened and blistered. Remove from oven and set aside.
One hour into simmering your sauce, add your chilli. I used a decent heaped tsp, but you can do this to taste based on your personal heat preferences. I prefer to start with less and build up, as you can always add more, but you can't detract from an overly chilli flavour. Also, the chilli will develop over the next hour or so of cooking.
At the two-hour mark, taste to check the chilli heat. Adjust as necessary. Add in your roasted baby tomatoes and combine into the sauce. Cook to warm through for 5 mins.
To serve
Spoon ladlefuls of tomato sauce onto pasta and combine gently; spoon into serving bowls and serve with extra minced chilli (optional) and finely grated Parmesan cheese.