Tomato and Mascarpone Pasta Sauce

No pictures for this one as I forgot to take any (or I could claim it was so tasty that it made me forget I had a camera to hand). A rich and creamy sauce that is a great meal on its own.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 anchovies in oil
• 1 red chilli, finely sliced
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced into small pieces (or use a garlic crusher)
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 300g pasta, preferably one with lots of ridges like fussili or radiatori
• 125g mascarpone cheese
• 2 bell peppers, cut into 2cm strips

Method

1. Put the oil in a medium sized saucepan over a medium-high heat.
2. Once the oil is hot, add the anchovies and chilli slices to the pan and fry for a couple of minutes. Stir the pan a few times until the chilli and anchovies start to break up.
3. Add the onion and turn the heat down to medium-low and put a lid on the pan.
4. Sweat the onions until they are starting to go soft, about 5 minutes.
5. Dump the garlic and tinned tomatoes into the pan and stir well.
6. Bring up to a simmer and then simmer for 10 minutes.
7. While the sauce simmers, pre-heat a pan of water deep enough for the pasta and then cook the pasta according to instructions, but taking a minute off the time.
8. Once the time is up for the pasta, take the pan off the hob, but don't drain it just yet.
9. Dump the mascarpone and bell pepper into the tomato sauce and stir well.
10. Simmer the sauce for a couple of minutes and then drain the pasta and add it to the sauce.
11. Mix well over a low heat until it's all uniform and then serve with freshly grated cheese sprinkled over the top.

Serves 3 (4 as long as you increase the pasta to 400g and provide a separate vegetable like green beans).