Making a knock out pasta dish at home on a weekday evening shouldn’t have to take you such a long time. The secret is always in the base sauce that you make.

In this case, I have made a lovely sweet and smoky sauce using sun blushed tomatoes (as opposed to sun-dried) and some lovely smoky parma ham that packs a tasty punch and all in super quick time!

Ingredients (serves 2):
150g of sun blushed tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
1/2 a sweet red pepper
3 slices of parma ham, cut into apx 1cm pieces
A good handful of fresh basil
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 smoked chicken breast (I have used Ummera Smoked Chicken for this recipe)
Olive oil
Smoked sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Penne Pasta (enough for two)
Grated Parmesan cheese.
Method:
Using a mini food chopper, process the tomatoes, garlic, sweet pepper and half the amount of basil.
Heat 1tblp of Olive Oil in a non-stick pan, and add the paste and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the parma ham and cook for another couple of minutes to release the flavour from the ham.
Heat a pan of well salted water for the pasta.
Add in the tin of tomatoes into the tomato and ham base sauce and stir well to combine adding a good grind of black pepper.
When the water is boiling add the pasta – as much as you think you need to feed two people!
Taste the sauce for seasoning, and adjust with the smoked sea salt and black pepper.
Chop half of the remaining basil and add to the sauce.
Slice the smoked chicken breast into bite size chunks – it’s a strong flavour so 1 breast is all that is needed for the flavour, but it’s not much meat either so chopping it smaller means it will go further between the two plates.
Add into the tomato sauce to gently warm through.
When the pasta is cooked, drain and add a splash of extra virgin olive oil and shake the pasta to cover.
Add in the tomato, ham and chicken sauce and stir until well combined.
Spoon generously onto warmed plates and finish with a final grind of black pepper, a healthy grating of fresh parmesan and a sprinkle of the remaining chopped basil.
Serve immediately and … Enjoy!