Recipe: pepperami pasta

I had some yellow sticker pepperami - those little sticks of pepperami that come in packs of four and go into lunchboxes.  These were 50p for four, last for ages and were a real bargain.

I also used some passata that I made from last year's tomatoes and froze last autumn.

This is more an idea that a recipe so no specific amounts, just what I thought would be right for one person.

Ingredients:
a little oil
1/4 onion (mine was a red onion), sliced
about 1/6th of a red pepper, diced
1 small pepperami, unwrapped and grated (or you could cut it into slices)
smoked paprika
garlic puree
passata
a bit of tomato puree

cooked spaghetti
a sprinkle of grated cheese (I used strong cheddar)

Method.
Put the pasta on to cook.

Gently fry the onion until translucent.  Add the red pepper and the grated pepperami and fry for a few more minutes, stirring now and again.  Then add the paprika and the garlic puree and fry for another minute.

Add the passata, increase the heat and let it bubble and thicken.  Add the tomato puree and taste, seasoning if necessary.

Drain the cooked spaghetti, reserving a little of the cooking water.  Add it to the sauce with a little cooking water and mix it all together.
Tip it into a bowl and sprinkle over some grated cheese.  Eat straight away!

You could use any suitable veg - I wanted to add some peas but am right out of them.
The pepperami gives the dish a little bit of heat and the paprika imparts smokiness.  Really delicious.