Heat the oil in a non-stick frypan, add the onion and bacon. Fry until the onion is transparent. Add the tomatoes and chili paste to taste. Simmer until the tomatoes have broken down somewhat to a sauce - usually about ten minutes, depending on how good and ripe your tomatoes are. (The flavour and aroma we get when we use Karen’s Dad’s tomatoes is incredible, so get those veggie gardens going if you can! You still get a good result with shop tomatoes if you choose carefully)

Serve generously on a bed of 3-colour fettucini or whatever pasta you have handy or fancy and top with cracked black pepper and lashings of fresh grated parmesan or hard pecorino.

(We have used wholemeal spaghetti, linguine, penne, spirali, and shells as alternatives, but I prefer the look and texture of the tricolore pasta. However, I don’t like using the common Guzzi brand because it gets very clingy to itself and tends to be soggy. Its also packaged in plastic on a foam tray. Our current 'rave' is Golden Pasta Mixed Linguine in a blue 375g box with a window. It cooks quickly, doesn’t stick and is conveniently dried into two servings – one of which is perfect for two hungry folks. Woolies should have it)