Pasta On My Night Off

On the rare occasions that Dre offers to cook, I jump at the opportunity. I really do love cooking, but sometimes there's nothing nicer than having the night off.

Dre can cook very well, but he doesn't do it often as I think he gets intimidated... I am a whirlwind in the kitchen; usually busy with 3 meals at a time (my breakfast and lunch for the next day, plus dinner). Who wouldn't be a little scared of that?

Anyway, I digress... Last night was one of the occasions that Dre offered to cook and guess what he felt like? Yip, you guessed it - more pasta - ha ha :) I wasn't about to complain though...

He saw a picture of a tomato, bacon and mushroom pasta on a website and suddenly felt like that. (Dre is very easy going when it comes to food - he eats to live, whereas I live to eat - therefore when he gets excited about food, I do my best to encourage him, as it's fantastic when your partner shares your passion!)

So he asked me how he could make this dish for me, taking my allergies into account.

I quickly rattled off a recipe in an e-mail to him, which gave him a good chuckle (I think writing recipes is now so second nature to me, I don't even realise it)

This is my recipe, which Dre cooked and oh my word, I can't explain to you how good it was, I just wanted to carry on eating it!

Thanks for a lovely dinner last night Dre :)

Bacon, Tomato and Mushroom Pasta:

(Serves 2)

Please remember that mushrooms contain yeast (I picked them out of my bowl :))

Ingredients:

1 Onion, Diced
4 Large Tomatoes, Skins Removed in Boiling Water and Roughly Chopped
3/4 Packet of Bacon (Rind and Fat Removed)
Tip: Dre bought the smokey bacon from Woolies, which complimented the tomato beautifully
Half a Punnet Mushrooms, Sliced
A Handful of Thai Basil/ Normal Basil, Roughly Torn
Salt and Pepper to Taste
2 Teaspoons of Xylitol/ Sugar
1 - 1.5 Cups Puccini Fusilli Maize Pasta (bought at Dischem)

Directions:

Fry onion and bacon until the onion is soft and the bacon is cooked – don’t use too much oil here as bacon has its own fat

Add the mushrooms and fry for a further few minutes

Add the chopped tomatoes to the mixture in the pot
Season with salt and pepper and add the sugar to counterbalance the sharpness of the tomatoes
(Dre's comment was that the sweetness goes so well with the bacon)
Add a little water to create a saucy consistency
Simmer for about 10 – 15 minutes until the flavours have infused and a nice sauce has been created
Add a few torn thai basil leaves to the sauce (this was a brilliant touch by Dre, the thai basil added a subtle flavour, which perfectly finished off the sauce)
Cook the pasta as directed and serve :)