Euro 2016 Food Challenge: Italy: Linguine Picchi-Pacchi

We eat A LOT of Italian food, so for my Italian challenge recipe I wanted to do something a bit different and seasonal.  There's a version of this dish in our Cucina Siciliana book; not only does it have a brilliant name (pronounced pic-key pac-key) but it's very tasty too.

Its basically a really easy fresh tomato sauce.  I think this is everything I love about good Italian food - simple, fresh, and packed with flavour. 

The recipe I used as a base included prawns in the dish, but I kept it veggie this time.  I think bacon would probably work well too.  This sauce is usually served with spaghetti, but we had linguine in (and I prefer it to spag).  And usually parsley is the herb used, but we have an abundance of oregano in the garden.   I used a mix of cherry and salad tomatoes to vary the texture, but any will do.

Serves 2

Ingredients 

400g fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 large garlic clove, crushed 

200g linguine

A large handful of oregano, chopped

Frylight 

Salt and pepper

To peel the tomatoes: use a sharp knife to score a cross in the bottom of each tomato. Plunge them into a bowl of boiling water for 30-60 seconds. Fish them out with a slotted spoon and plunge them into cold water.  Peel the tomatoes and chop them up.

Spray a pan with Frylight. Sauté the onion over a low heat until softened but not browned. Add the garlic and tomatoes and cook for about 10-15 minutes, using a wooden spoon to break down the tomato flesh.  Season with salt to taste.

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.

Reserving some for garnish at the end, add the majority of the oregano to the sauce and heat through.  

Stir the sauce through the cooked pasta. Serve immediately, topped with the rest of the oregano, and seasoned with salt and pepper.