There’s nothing better than sitting down to a bowl of tasty pasta with homemade sauce. There are so many scrumptious pasta sauces out there however as a rule, I tend to try to stick with the lower fat, non-creamy based sauces.
Now this particular pasta dish is a personal favorite of mine because of the pepperoni. I could eat pepperoni until the cows come home. I love it on my pizza, (extra please) and I most certainly love it in my pasta dishes. You can choose mild, medium or spicy pepperoni for this pasta. I have kept mine mild so the boys can eat it too.
The pepperoni combined with the bacon makes this a meat lovers pasta. It’s delicious with the addition of chili however I served up the children’s meals first then added the chili at the end for the adults. Do all your chopping in advance so the cooking process is a piece of cake at dinner time.
Pepperoni Pasta
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 8 bacon rashers, chopped
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 small red chili’s, thinly sliced
- 2 x 400 g (14 oz) cans crushed or chopped tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 100 g (4 oz) pepperoni, sliced
- ½ cup (50 g) fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
- ½ cup (50 g) fresh basil leaves, chopped
- ½ cup (50 g) pitted black olives
- 500 g (18 oz) penne pasta
- Parmesan cheese to serve
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium sized frying pan.
- Add the bacon, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring until the onion is soft.
- Add the undrained tomatoes, tomato paste and pepperoni. Simmer covered for 15 minutes, then add the herbs and olives; simmer uncovered until thickened. Remove some sauce for the children’s serve then add the chili and cook for another few minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the packet directions.
- Combine the pasta and sauce in a serving bowl and toss gently.
- Serve with parmesan cheese and crusty bread.
Cooking Tips
- Use a combination of any leftovers meats you have on hand i.e. bacon, ham, pepperoni, prosciutto, parma ham all work well.
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