This has got to be the easiest pasta dish in the world. Most people have an onion, a packet of pasta, a piece of bacon, some tomato paste and – the secret ingredient – Knorr Touch of Taste.
Method
1. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Season the water by adding in the Knorr Chicken Stock Pot and stirring it to dissolve it. Some people add olive oil to their pasta water, but I never bother. Bring the water back to the boil. Add in the spaghetti, bring back to the boil, cover and cook until cooked to taste, stirring now and then to prevent it sticking. I like my pasta ‘al dente’, so I’d allow 9-10 minutes.
2. Once the spaghetti is cooking in the saucepan, heat a heavy-based frying pan on a separate ring until nice and hot. Add in the olive oil and heat through briefly. Add in the onion and bacon and fry over a medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring all the time, without allowing the onion to colour. When you watch me, you’ll see that I fry the onion without colouring it. I do this to soften it, to take out its moisture and to bring out its natural sweetness.
3. Add in the garlic and mix in. Fry for 1-2 minutes, stirring, then add in the tomato paste and mix in. You can add in as much or as little as you like. I like tomato paste, so I add a lot. Add a dash of Knorr Chicken Touch of Taste to the bacon mixture, mixing it in well.
4. Using a slotted spoon, add the cooked spaghetti to the frying pan and toss the pan to mix it all together thoroughly. Divide among two serving bowls, garnish with parsley sprigs and serve at once. There you have it – the pasta dish I ate as a boy.
5. Don’t waste your pasta water. It’s got the flavour from the Knorr Chicken Stock Pot in it and starch from the pasta in it, which is a natural thickener. Use it in a gravy, a soup or a stew.
