Spicy tomato pasta

With just a rolling pin and two ingredients you can make your own pasta from scratch! To keep things simple it’s served with a fresh 3-ingredient tomato sauce.

Ingredients

• 100g/3½oz plain flour or Tipo 00 flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 large free-range egg
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and thinly sliced (or grated)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 2 large ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• salt and black pepper

Method

1. Put the flour and a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl and make a well in the middle.

2. Crack the egg into the well, then use a fork to beat the egg until smooth.

3. Gradually bring the flour in from the outside, adding a splash of water, if needed.

4. When the dough starts to come together, dust your hands with flour and pat it into a ball.

5. Knead on a flour-dusted surface for 4–5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic (tweak with a splash more water or flour if you need to). Cover and leave to relax for 30 minutes.

6. Put the garlic and olive oil in a saucepan on a medium heat. Cook for 1 minute, or until starting to turn golden.

7. Add the chilli and tomatoes to the pan with a splash of water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes have broken down into a chunky sauce, stirring regularly. Taste and season with salt and black pepper. Set aside while you make the pasta.

8. Dust a clean work surface with flour, then use a rolling pin to roll out the pasta as thin as you can (aim for about 2mm, or the thickness of a 2p coin), dusting it well with flour as you go.

9. Loosely roll up the pasta sheet, then use a sharp knife to slice it just over 5mm wide, tossing it with your fingertips to separate the strands.

10. Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water for 2–3 minutes, then drain, reserving a mugful of the starchy cooking water.

11. Carefully toss the pasta with the sauce, loosening with a splash of pasta water, if needed.

Recipe Tips

If you like your food spicy, feel free to add more chilli and/or include the seeds and white membrane from the chilli (this is where most of the heat comes from).

If making with children, always supervise small children when using the hob and sharp knives.

Tips for older children

Remember to wash your hands before you start cooking and after handling the chilli.

You will need to use a sharp knife: if you’re not confident using kitchen knives ask an adult to help as knives can be dangerous. It is helpful if the adult chops alongside you so you can see how it is done.

Consider asking an adult to help when using the hob as the pan will get very hot and you could burn yourself.

Spicy tomato pasta