🍳 Tomato, Mascarpone and Pancetta Rigatoni 🍳

Here we have a tasty midweek supper that uses lots of storecupboard and fridge ingredients that have a relatively long shelf life – tinned tomatoes, pancetta, mascarpone – making it a top standby recipe to feed your hungry family. If you leave out the pancetta and switch the chicken stock for vegetable bouillon or water, this becomes a really tasty, meat-free pasta sauce or base for pizza or vegetarian lasagne.

1. Place a large sauté pan over a medium–high heat and add the oil. When hot, add the pancetta and cook for 3–4 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Remove a big spoonful from the pan and drain on kitchen paper, then put to one side to use as garnish.

2. Add the onion to the pan and cook until softened, then add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Stir in the Italian seasoning, both lots of tomatoes, the chicken Stir in the Italian seasoning, both lots of tomatoes, the chicken stock and mascarpone. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

4. Meanwhile, bring a kettle of water to the boil. Pour into a saucepan, season with salt and return to the boil. Add the pasta, then stir and cook for 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving the water.

5. Add the pasta to the sauce and stir well to coat. Add a ladleful of the pasta water, if needed. Season to taste, then add the Parmesan and basil and stir again.

6. Serve in warm bowls and sprinkle with the reserved pancetta and a little more Parmesan.

Time-saving tip Buy a packet of diced pancetta or bacon lardons and store it in the fridge (for up to a month) as a useful standby. It’s so handy for rustling up carbonara or other pasta sauces like this one at the last minute.